2 
 
 V 
 
 A 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
 I 
 
THE 
 
 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, 
 
 (SAINT DOMINGO,) 
 
 WITH REMARKS 
 
 ON ITS 
 
 AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, LAWS, RELIGION, 
 FINANCES, AND POPULATION, 
 
 ETC. ETC. 
 
 BY JAMES FRANKLIN. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 MDCCCXXVIII. 
 
 a 
 
G. WOODFALLj ANGEL court, skinner street, LONDON. 
 
£1 / 
 
 7^7 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The Author has prepared this work for the press 
 somewhat hastily, and under many circumstances 
 which heavily oppressed him; he hopes therefore 
 that the want of arrangement, and the dearth of 
 matter which may be observed in his narrative, will 
 not subject it to a severe condemnation. In present- 
 ing it to the public, he is not actuated by any per- 
 sonal considerations, his object being to convey some 
 information respecting the resources of a country, 
 and the character of a people, which have been so 
 variously represented. The short delineation here 
 attempted will, in all probability, suffice to shew that 
 the accounts which have been given at different times 
 of Hayti and its inhabitants have been much too 
 highly coloured by the zealous advocates of negro 
 independence ; and he is ready to confess that at 
 one time he was somewhat dazzled by the descrip- 
 tion, and was almost made a convert to their opi- 
 nions. It having been his lot however, at a sub- 
 sequent period, to hold considerable intercourse with 
 the country, he has been enabled to form what he 
 considers a more correct estimate of its present con- 
 
 m:517269 
 
VIU PREFACE. 
 
 dition. Experience has convinced him that the re- 
 presentations so generally received of the improve- 
 ment which it has made are greatly exaggerated, and 
 he is not without the hope that the following sheets 
 will convey more correct information on the subject, 
 and thus prove useful to the merchant, if not inter- 
 esting to the general reader. 
 
 He readily admits that in the historical part 
 he has touched upon matters which have been al- 
 ready handled by other and much abler writers ; 
 this could not be very well avoided, the annals of 
 Hayti affording but few events, and those having 
 been often detailed. He conceived that such a 
 summary of the history of the country would be 
 necessary to illustrate the cause of the revolution, 
 to shew the decline which ensued in agriculture and 
 commerce, the decay of knowledge, and the progress 
 of vice and immorality among the inhabitants. 
 
 Actuated therefore by the desire of throwing some 
 light on the state of Hayti, and giving a faithful 
 representation of the condition of its population, 
 he ventures to solicit the attention of the public 
 to the facts which have fallen under his own per- 
 sonal observation. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Preface vii 
 
 Introduction 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Situation and general description of the French and 
 Spanish divisions, previously to the revolution in the 
 former country < , 15 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 Cause of the revolution in the colony. — People of 
 colour in France.— Their proceedings. — League with the 
 society of Amis des Noirs. — Oge's rebellion. — His defeat 
 and death. — Conduct of the proprietors and planters. — 
 Consequences of it , . . . , 39 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 First revolt of the slaves in 1791. — Their ravages. — 
 Decree of the national assembly 4th April 1792. — 
 Santhonax and Polverel — then* secret agency. — Encou- 
 rage the slaves. — Their declaration of freedom to the 
 slaves — Consequences arising from it. — Character of 
 the slaves. — Disabilities of the coloured people ...... 64 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Effects of emancipating the slaves. — Arrival of the 
 British forces. — Their subsequent operations.-^Evacua- 
 
iv CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 tion by General Maitland. — M. Charmilly negotiates 
 with the English. — Views of the English cabinet. — Par- 
 ties in the contest.— And insincerity of the French 
 planters 97 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The period between the evacuation by the British 
 forces and the arrival of the French army under Le 
 Cierc. — Cultivation. — Law to enforce it. — Character of 
 Toussaint. — Reverses. — His arrangement with the 
 French general. — His seizure and removal to France. . 117 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The period from the seizure of Toussaint to the final 
 expulsion of the French by Dessalines, in 1803. — State 
 of cultivation. — Commerce declined — and observations 
 on the population. — Its extent 161 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Independence declared. — Dessalines attempts to take 
 the city of Santo Domingo — Raised to the imperial dig- 
 nity. — New constitution. — His atrocious massacres. — At- 
 tempts to import negroes from Africa. — Encourages 
 cultivators. — Census taken. — State of his army, — His 
 death and character 175 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Christophe takes the command. — His officers of go- 
 vernment. — Promotes agriculture and commerce. — 
 Petion opposes him. — Cessation of arms mutually 
 agreed upon. — Christophe crowned king. — Code Henry. 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 Page 
 
 — Baron de Vastey's opinions. — Commissioners from 
 
 France. — Conduct to them. — Christophe pursues his 
 system of government. — Petion relaxes in his. — His 
 offers to the British government. — State of his dominions. 
 
 — Has recourse to a debased currency. — Consequences, 
 — His death. — Christophe negotiates for the possession 
 of the Spanish part. — Revolution in his dominions. — 
 His death 195 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Boyer elected president. — His character. — Revolu- 
 tion in the north — annexed to the south. — Revolution 
 in Spanish part. — Union of the whole. — Measures 
 pursued after. — Overtures to France. — Arrival of 
 French fleet. — Negotiation and independence. — Baron 
 Mackau. — Dissatisfaction prevails. — British consul-ge- 
 neral. — Further dissatisfaction. — Determination not to 
 pay the indemnity. — Voluntary loan attempted — it fails. 
 
 — Observations on the inefficiency of government. — 
 State of the military. — Naval force, etc 232 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Topographical sketch. — State of the roads. — Mode 
 of repair by criminals. — Hov/ criminals are treated. — 
 Description of inns. — Accommodations at them. — 
 Mode of travelling. — Value of land in several districts, 
 and in towns 271 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Agriculture. — Crops in Toussaint's and Dessalines' 
 time, — System of Christophe and Petion. — Decline 
 
. VI CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 under Boyer. — Crops in his time. — Attempts to revive 
 
 it. — Coercion resorted to. — Code Rural — doubts on 
 enforcing its clauses. — Disposal of lands. — Consequences 
 from it. — Incompetency of planters. — State of cultiva- 
 tion of sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, indigo. — Free labour. 
 — Consequences arising from it — its inefficacy, etc 517 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 Commerce. — State of exports and imports. — Exac- 
 tions at the customs — depredations and impositions. — 
 Foreign merchants — disabilities they labour under. — 
 Insecurity. — State of finances. — Revenue, etc 568 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Haytian jurisprudence. — State of the courts. — Trial 
 by jury. — The judges. — Justices of the peace — their cor- 
 ruption. — State of the church. — Account of a mission- 
 ary. — Schism in the church. — Moral and religious state 
 of the people shewn by their mode of living. — Descrip- 
 tion of this mode. — Habitations described. — Furniture, 
 etc. — Education — its progress. — Government do not en- 
 courage it. — Remarks on the consequences of not doing 
 so. — Qualifications of senators and communes — shew 
 the state of knowledge and education '. 583 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Population. — Census 1824 — opinion on it. — Further 
 statement. — Manner of taking the census^ — Checks to 
 increase — decrease is evident — nature of those checks. 
 — Increase in the United States, according to Raymond. 
 — Conclusion . , 402 
 
THE PRESENT STATE 
 
 op 
 
 HAYTI, 
 
 OR SAINT DOMINGO. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 An account of the present state of Hayti I believe 
 has not yet been submitted to the public ; to offer 
 one likely to meet with a favourable reception is, I 
 am aware, an undertaking of considerable difficulty : 
 it requires, no doubt, that the author should be well 
 skilled in the various branches of knowledge, in 
 order to render it in every respect satisfactory and 
 interesting to the public. Ignorant as I acknow- 
 ledge myself to be in the higher walks of philoso- 
 phy, and educated solely for the more humble avo- 
 cations of a mercantile life, I can lay no claim to 
 such acquirements : I must therefore rest my hope 
 of commanding any degree of attention, on the 
 truth and correctness of the statements which I 
 
 B 
 
2 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, 
 
 shall produce, founded as they are on actual observ- 
 ation. I am conscious that I am standing on deli- 
 cate ground, and touching on a subject likely to 
 excite angry feelings in those who have long been 
 the eulogists of the republic, who have been its ad- 
 vocates when assailed, and who have held it forth 
 to the world as a country in which wealth abounds, 
 virtue flourishes, and freedom reigns triumphant, 
 instead of the oppression, the vice, and the poverty 
 which once prevailed there ; but I will not shrink 
 from the undertaking, though powerful obstacles 
 may present themselves, and formidable opponents 
 be arrayed against me. My object in the following 
 sheets is, to endeavour to dissipate this delusion, and 
 to shew that there is nothing to warrant the unquali- 
 fied panegyrics poured forth by those individuals who 
 have been the most conspicuous for their zeal and en- 
 thusiasm, in holding up Hayti as a " land flowing 
 with milk and honey ^\ In the performance of this, 
 I have no other aim than that of benefiting the 
 merchant and capitalist, the manufacturer, and the 
 trader, who have had no opportunity of visiting a 
 country to which their speculations in commerce 
 may lead them, by guarding them against the shoals 
 and quicksands upon which adventurers, destitute of 
 information, are so frequently wrecked. 
 
 The admirers of Hayti have been very indus- 
 trious in circulating the most deceptive accounts of 
 the state oi its commerce, by garbled and exagge- 
 
OR SAINT DOMINGO. t5 
 
 rated speciiications. They have led many to be- 
 lieve that its imports and exports are daily on the 
 increase, and that the resources of the people for 
 the purchase of the products and manufactures of 
 other states receive a gradual and steady augmenta- 
 tion. I am much deceived if I shall not succeed 
 in convincing the reader that this representation is 
 a perfect delusion, and that from the diminished 
 means of the people, the commerce of Hayti, in- 
 stead of increasing, annually sustains a considerable 
 diminution; and that while the present state of 
 things continues to exist — while its rulers are weak 
 and imbecile, and the mass of the population are 
 kept in a state of the grossest ignorance — there does 
 not appear a ray of hope that any improvement may 
 take place in the circumstances of the country, or 
 that any change will be effected, likely to prove ad- 
 vantageous to foreigners disposed to embark in an 
 intercourse with Hayti. 
 
 Several visits to Hayti — in two of which I had, 
 from the nature of my mission, occasion to remain 
 there a considerable time — gave me opportunities of 
 seeing the actual state of it, in all its different 
 branches of agriculture, commerce, finances, and 
 the moral and religious condition of its people, to- 
 gether with the state of its government and the 
 views of its chief. I am therefore encouraged to 
 hope that my details may be productive of some 
 benefit to the commercial part of the community, 
 
 B 2 
 
4 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, 
 
 and not be altogether unacceptable to others, whose 
 avocations are different, but who may be desirous of 
 correct information respecting those parts of the 
 globe of which they may know but little except the 
 name. 
 
 An historical account of Hayti would be a super- 
 fluous undertaking ; I see nothing to add to what 
 has already been written by Charlevoix, Raynal, 
 Edwards, Walton, and others, in their elaborate 
 and voluminous works, and who have omitted no- 
 thing interesting, or worthy of being recorded, from 
 its first discovery by the illustrious Columbus down 
 to a very recent period. Every event connected 
 with its history seems to have been most faithfully 
 detailed by these writers, and their works are enti- 
 tled to the highest credit and consideration, as con- 
 taining the best and most authentic account of this 
 very extensive island. 
 
 Impelled, no doubt, as they were with a desire 
 to afford to the world every possible information re- 
 lative to the resources of the country, and of the 
 character and general habits of the people, they 
 have left little to be performed by their successors, 
 except to notice the changes and events which may 
 have taken place since the date of their latest pro- 
 ductions. Besides a copious and a faithful histori- 
 cal sketch, they have given a correct statistical view 
 of its agriculture, its commerce, and public revenue; 
 they have also pointed out the slow advances made 
 
OR SAINT DOMINGO. 5 
 
 by the people in industry, in morality, and in ge- 
 neral knowledge : but little, therefore, remains to 
 be said on these subjects, except to call the attention 
 of the reader to the striking contrast which the pre- 
 sent situation of the republic exhibits, when com- 
 pared with that which it displayed before the revo- 
 lution ; to give a brief sketch of Hayti as it is, with 
 an occasional reference to Hayti as it was. I must 
 beg leave to assure my readers, that in executing 
 this task, I am actuated by no unfair nor unjust 
 motives ; I am only anxious that the highly coloured 
 statements which have been published respecting its 
 present wealth and prosperity should be submitted 
 to the test of candid and impartial scrutiny. For a 
 series of years Hayti has been made the theme of 
 constant praise, and has excited no little share of 
 the public attention, on account of the unexampled 
 efforts which its slave population made to throw 
 off the fetters by which they had been previously 
 bound, and on account of their having, as their 
 eulogists declare, made the most rapid and extraor- 
 dinary strides in civilization and social improve- 
 ment. It must be admitted that the revolution 
 effected in Hayti, was an event almost unparal- 
 leled in history ; and that a people just emerg- 
 ing from a state of barbarism should have so suc- 
 cessfully combated and defeated the finest troops 
 of France, is no doubt a circumstance calculated to 
 call forth no trifling portion of astonishment and ad- 
 
6 PRESENT STATE Ob IIAYTI, 
 
 miration : but when the partial eulogists of the Hay- 
 tians go to the length of asserting that they have 
 arrived at a high degree of moral improvement, that 
 they have reached a state of refinement little infe- 
 rior to that which generally prevails in Europe, the 
 limits of truth are overstepped : such overstrained 
 assertions are totally destitute even of the semblance 
 of truth, and my personal experience enables me to 
 declare, in the most explicit and unqualified terms, 
 that at this very moment, the people of Hayti arc 
 in a worse state of ignorance than the slave popula- 
 tion in the British colonies. There are some cases, 
 it is true, in which instances of intelligence have been 
 discovered in the Haytian citizen, but this never 
 occurs except where individuals have had the ad- 
 vantages of an European education, or who, being 
 the descendants of persons who previously to the 
 revolution were possessed of wealth, had the means 
 of travelling, for the purpose of acquiring the man- 
 ners and customs of more enlightened nations. But 
 taking the people in the aggregate, they are far from 
 having made any advances in knowledge. 
 
 It has also been commonly asserted by the friends 
 of Hayti, and I believe very generally credited in 
 Europe, that it preserves its agricultural pre-emi- 
 nence solely by free labour ; now I think I shall be 
 able to prove to a demonstration that this is not the 
 case, and that it is too evident, from every document 
 that has yet appeared on the subject, that agricid • 
 
OR SAINT DOMINGO. 7 
 
 ture has been long on the wane, and has sunk to the 
 lowest possible ebb in every district of the republic ; 
 that the true art and principles of the culture of 
 the soil, are not understood, or if in the least known, 
 they are not practically applied. There is nothing 
 to be seen having the least resemblance to a colony, 
 flourishing in the wealth derived from a properly 
 regulated system of agriculture. 
 
 On the subject of free labour I shall have occa- 
 sion to offer a few remarks, and I trust that in doing 
 so, I shall not be considered as inimical to it, where- 
 ever it may be found practicable to obtain it ; on 
 the contrary, no man would be more happy to see 
 that our own colonies could be cultivated by free 
 labour, provided a full compensation should be ho- 
 nourably made to those whose interests might be en- 
 dangered by the experiment, if unsuccessful ; but I 
 shall, I think, be able to shew that this is absolutely 
 impracticable, and that the system of labour so pur- 
 sued in Hayti, instead of affording us a proof of 
 what may be accomplished by it, is illustrative of 
 the fact, that it is by coercion, and coercion only, 
 that any return can be expected from the employ- 
 ment of capital in the cultivation of soil in our 
 West India islands. I shall also be able to shew 
 that Hayti presents no instance in which the cul- 
 tivation of the soil is successfully carried on without 
 the application of force to constrain the labourer : 
 on the estates of every individual connected with 
 
8 PRESENT BTATE O^ HAITI, 
 
 the government, all the labourers employed work 
 under the superintendence of a military police, and 
 it is on these properties alone that any thing re- 
 sembling successful agriculture exists in Hayti. I 
 am aware that this will excite the astonishment of 
 persons who have been accustomed to think other- 
 wise ; but I shall state facts which cannot be con- 
 troverted, even by President Boyer himself — nay, 
 I shall produce circumstances which I have seen 
 with the utmost surprise on his own estate ; cir- 
 cumstances that must shew his warmest advocates, 
 that all his boasted productions have not been ob- 
 tained without the application of that system against 
 which they loudly exclaim. 
 
 Instead of holding out an example of what might 
 be accomplished by a people released from bondage, 
 without first having been prepared for freedom by 
 moral and religious instruction, I think Hayti ra- 
 ther forms a beacon to warn us against the dangers 
 and difficulties by which that unhappy country has 
 been overtaken. The present condition of Hayti, 
 arising from the events which have taken place since 
 the revolution, should render us exceedingly cautious 
 how we plunge our own colonies into the same misery 
 and calamity ; by conferring on a rude and untaught 
 people, without qualification, or without the least 
 restraint, an uncontrolled command over themselves. 
 However acutely we may feel for the miseries to 
 which the West Indian slave was at one period sub- 
 
OR SAINT DOMINGO. 9 
 
 jected, yet I cannot conceive it possible that any one 
 can be so destitute of correct information on the sub- 
 ject as not to know, that at this moment the slave is 
 in a condition far more happy, that he possesses infi- 
 nitely greater comforts and enjoyments, than any class 
 of labourers in Hayti, and that, from the judicious 
 measures which have been already adopted by the 
 colonial legislatures, and from others which are in 
 contemplation, for improving the condition of the 
 slave, it is very rational to conclude that before long 
 slavery will only be considered as a name ; and that 
 were it to receive any other designation it would fur- 
 nish no peg on which the European philanthropist 
 might hang his declamations against slavery. 
 
 To place the slaves in the British colonies upon 
 a footing with the free labourers in Hayti, or with 
 the largest proportion of the people in that country, 
 would be a work of easy accomplishment ; but the 
 effect would be, to cause them to exchange a state 
 of comparative plenty and comfort, for one in 
 which every species of tyranny and oppression, with 
 their concomitants, disease and want, are most la- 
 mentably conspicuous. Whatever may be the views 
 of the British Cabinet relative to their colonies, I 
 should warn it to steer clear of the erroneous policy 
 which has proved so fatal to Hayti, and should it 
 be determined that a change should be introduced 
 into the policy hitherto pursued with so much suc- 
 cess, and with so much advantage in our colonial 
 
10 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, 
 
 possessions, I trust it will not be by emancipating 
 the slave, before lie is prepared for freedom by a 
 proper moral and religious education. Let the 
 system of slavery be gradually improved, and the 
 slave will glide imperceptibly into a state of freedom. 
 It is not my intention, in this early stage of my 
 remarks, to enter into any lengthened detail of the 
 disunion or want of cordiality subsisting between 
 the two classes of people in Hayti : this I shall re- 
 serve for its proper place ; where it will be seen, that 
 a very strong dissatisfaction prevails amongst the 
 black population, which manifests itself upon almost 
 every occasion of celebrating public events, and 
 festivities. This acrimonious feeling evidently arises 
 from the jealousy excited by the predominant in- 
 fluence of the coloured people in the government. 
 This influence, detrimental as it may be to the good 
 order and repose of the country, is courted and 
 nurtured by the president, to the great danger of 
 overthrowing the whole establishment. One or two 
 attempts at revolt have been made by the people of 
 the north, who were the subjects of the late Chris- 
 tophc, and from these efforts, although abortive, it 
 may be inferred, that the spirit for a more extensive 
 commotion still lurks in their minds, and that the 
 least possible irritation would so agitate and inflame 
 them, that the whole would be thrown into a scene 
 of disorder, tumult, and irremediable confusion. 
 Tlie combinations are numerous and powerful, but 
 
OR SAINT DOMINGO. 11 
 
 such was the extraordinary apathy of the govern- 
 ment, that until a communication was made by an 
 individual to Boyer, neither he nor any one of his 
 officers had the least intimation that such proceed- 
 ings were in contemplation. The want of energy 
 visible in the government makes it obnoxious to the 
 people, and no country like Hayti can be expected 
 to remain long in repose and tranquillity, unless its 
 governors possess both talent and resolution to com- 
 mand. 
 
 That the government of Hayti is the most ineffi- 
 cient and enervated of any of the modern repub- 
 lics cannot be denied, and I cannot see the least 
 hope of an improvement, unless there be a complete 
 revision of its constitution, and a new one framed, 
 better suited to the tastes of the people, and more 
 adapted to their present very rude state of know- 
 ledge. From the present rulers it would be vain to 
 expect any effort which might prove beneficial to 
 the country ; any attempt to cultivate or improve 
 the habits and morals of the people, or to promote 
 agriculture. The members composing the present 
 government, seem to consider the poverty and ignor- 
 ance of the people, as the best safeguards of the 
 security and permanence of their own property and 
 power. 
 
 A recognition of the independence of Hayti by 
 Great Britain may give some strength to the mea- 
 sures of its government, because the people have 
 
12 rilESENT STATE OF IIAYTl, ETC. 
 
 called out loudly for the protection of that power, 
 whilst they have as loudly exclaimed against the 
 policy pursued towards France. No event in its his- 
 tory has excited in the republic greater abhorrence 
 or more general murmuring, than the act of purchas- 
 ing from France that which it had de facto possessed 
 for twenty-one years unmolested and undisturbed ; 
 thereby at once admitting the sovereignty of that 
 power over the island, and which sovereignty France 
 will, at some convenient period, unquestionably as- 
 sert, and that without the least fear of any incon- 
 venient consequences arising from it ; for what 
 power can give aid to the Haytians against France, 
 when the former have openly and formally admitted 
 themselves to be a colony dependent upon the 
 French crown. Whatever intercourse Englishmen 
 may be disposed to maintain with Hayti, it is in- 
 dispensable that they should use the most vigilant 
 precaution, and exact a rigid adherence to such 
 treaties as may have been entered into, if they 
 would avoid certain loss ; for the Htiytian character, 
 taken generally, will be found, so far from being 
 entitled either to credit or confidence, not even to 
 possess common honesty. Compacts with them are 
 easily made ; but a faithful adherence to agreements 
 must not be expected; — their maxim is to break 
 them, whenever they find it can be accomplished 
 with advantage. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Situation and general description of the French and 
 Spanish divisions, previously to the Revolution in the 
 former country. 
 
 The island of St. Domingo, once the abode of 
 fertility, and the scene of extraordinary political 
 changes and events, lies in latitude 18° 20' north 
 and in longitude 68° 40' west from Greenwich, 
 having on its west the islands of Cuba and Jamaica, 
 on its east Porto Rico, the Bahamas on its north, 
 and bounded southerly by the Carribean Sea. Its 
 extent has been variously stated; but Edwards, who 
 describes it to be about 390 miles in length from 
 east to west, seems the most correct ; and it appears 
 from late surveys to be nearly 150 miles in breadth 
 from north to south. The Abbe Raynal has re- 
 presented it at 200 leagues in length, and from 60 
 to 80 in breadth, but it is evident that his estima- 
 tion is erroneous. Rainsford also states it to be 
 about 450 miles in length, but from every informa- 
 tion which I could obtain, its length does not ap- 
 pear to exceed 400 miles, nor its breadth 140. The 
 reader, therefore, must look into these discrepances, 
 and judge between them. As it is not easy to sur- 
 
14 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 vey a country intersected by wilds and impenetrable 
 mountains, much is necessarily left to conjecture. 
 
 It is the most extensive, and was at one period of 
 its history the most productive of the Antilles, and 
 was called by the aborigines Haiti, or Highland, and 
 by which ancient designation it is now generally 
 known, that of St. Domingo having been abolished 
 at the revolution. To convey an adequate idea of 
 what this once delightful island was, is not the ob- 
 ject of the present work; on this head it is sufficient 
 to observe that in the richness and extent of its pro- 
 ductions, and in its'local beauties, it exceeded every 
 other island in the western hemisphere, and that the 
 two divisions of the east and the west, when under 
 the respective governments of Spain and France, 
 were considered and indeed known to be the most 
 splendid and most important appendages to those 
 crowns. Its plains and valleys presented the most 
 inviting scenes from the richness of the pastures and 
 the verdure with which they eternally abounded. 
 Its mountains were also said to contain ores of the 
 most valuable kind, and produce timber admirably 
 adapted for every useful or ornamental purpose. 
 Nothing could exceed the extreme salubrity of the 
 whole country, nor could it be surpassed in the vast 
 exuberance of its luscious fruits, and in those pro- 
 ductions of the soil which became the general arti- 
 cles of export, and from which all the wealth and 
 all commerce of this colony flowed. 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 15 
 
 The French division, though infinitely less ex- 
 tensive than the Spanish part, and not containing a 
 third of the whole island, has been considered the 
 most valuable spot in the western world. The 
 Spanish division however has greater natural re- 
 sources, and affords greater facilities for agricultural 
 operations: but the very extraordinary exertions of 
 the French planter in the culture of the soil, com- 
 pensated for the want of those advantages possessed 
 by their Spanish neighbours, who, more indolently 
 disposed, relied on the produce of their mines, which 
 afforded, as they imagined, greater local riches than 
 those which could be obtained from either agricul- 
 ture or commerce, forgetting that these alone fur- 
 nish the wealth which can render any country really 
 and permanently prosperous and great. 
 
 It appears from every authority, that the first 
 colony established here by the French, was settled 
 in the sixteenth century, having been attracted 
 thither by the Buccaneers, who had previously ob- 
 tained a footing in the island from excursions which 
 they often made from Tortuga, for the purpose of 
 hunting the bulls of the Spaniards. These hardy 
 and predatory warriors attracted the French, who 
 supplied them with such necessaries as they required, 
 and even sent them many settlers, with arms and 
 implements for defence and labour. The extreme 
 fertility of the country invited them to make some 
 efforts to gain a permanent footing in it, and by 
 
16 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTT, [cHAP. I. 
 
 means of intrigue coupled with a little force, tliey 
 succeeded in obtaining possession of the whole of 
 the west end, tlie line of which seems to have run 
 in an oblique direction, from about Cape Francois 
 on the north to Cape Rosa on the south. Having 
 surmovmted all the obstacles that presented them- 
 selves, and having overcome those difficulties which 
 generally accompany the first attempts at coloni- 
 zation, or are met with in a newly discovered land, 
 they pursued with incredible ardour and industry 
 the culture of the soil, and the improvement of their 
 valuable acquisition. 
 
 The Spanish court, jealous of and unable to con- 
 tend with their rival colonists, submitted to France, 
 when the two cabinets at home came to a mutual 
 understanding and adjustment, respecting these 
 foreign possessions. An arrangement was entered 
 into, under which commissioners were appointed 
 for settling the boundaries, and fixing the rights 
 which had formed the ground of disputes between 
 the settlers of these rival nations. The line of de- 
 marcation finally agreed upon commenced at the 
 bay of Mansenillo on the north, dividing in its 
 course the river Massacre ; thence taking rather 
 a westerly course, it reached an acute point at Don- 
 don, and afterwards proceeded southerly to the river 
 Pedernales. 
 
 This tract of country, as conceded to the French, 
 contained about 1000 square leagues, exceedingly 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 17 
 
 irregular in its character, intersected with moun- 
 tains, and having plains confined and difficult of 
 approach, so as to make it altogether much inferior 
 in point of natural value to even a single district of 
 the Spanish division ; having also two extreme 
 points or capes, Cape Nicolas Mole on the north, 
 and Cape Tiburon on the south-west extremity, in 
 both of which the soil is less valuable, from its being 
 so very mountainous, and from its not possessing 
 those facilities of communication which can be ob- 
 tained in other districts. Notwithstanding the dis- 
 advantages against which the first settlers had to' 
 contend, and in defiance of every local obstacle, 
 they seemed to have been impressed with the con- 
 viction, that if a spirit of perseverance and labour 
 could be diffused amongst them, they would ulti- 
 mately be richly rewarded for all their toil, and all 
 that anxiety and deprivation to which it appears, at 
 their first setting out, they were unquestionably 
 subjected. Their conclusions were just, and time 
 shewed the correctness of the principles on which 
 they reasoned and acted, for their colony gradually 
 rose in estimation ; and at so early a period as the 
 year 1703, under the government of M. Auger, a 
 native of America, and who in early life had been 
 in a state of slavery, it had become of so much 
 consideration to France, that the greatest possible 
 efforts were made to extend their system of cultiva- 
 tion to the whole of their colonial territory. That 
 
 c 
 
18 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 officer was indefatigable, it is said, in his exertions 
 in encouraging and in stimulating the colonists in 
 the culture of the lands, and as he had been pre- 
 viously governor of Guadaloupe, it is to be inferred 
 that he possessed no ordinary skill in the business of 
 preparing the ground for the production of those 
 exotic and indigenous plants which became the main 
 articles of export to the mother-country. That he 
 was a most efficient governor all writers admit, for 
 he had brought the state of his colony to a very 
 high pitch of prosperity, when he died, lamented 
 by all who had lived under his command. The 
 plantations at this period had increased in every 
 part, particularly in the valleys, where the soil was 
 more congenial, and where the labour could be per- 
 formed without being attended with those difficulties 
 which impeded it in the more mountainous districts. 
 In the v/estern parts the cocoa-tree had begun to 
 produce most luxuriantly, yielding great wealth to 
 individuals, and a large revenue to the state. The 
 sugar-cane had also arrived at great perfection, and 
 the art of manufacturing the sugar from it had been 
 for some time carried on with astonishing success. 
 Coffee plantations were establishing, and the plant- 
 ers in every direction were vying with each other in 
 bringing their properties into the highest possible 
 state of cultivation. 
 
 In the year 1715, however, the island suffered a 
 very severe calamity, and in the succeeding year 
 
€HAP. I.] OR SAIXT DOMINGO. 19 
 
 another followed, in both of which almost all the 
 cocoa-trees perished, and considerable damage was 
 done to every vegetable production ; and the plant- 
 ers, who had by this time acquired an easy, if not a 
 competent fortune, sustained losses that only time 
 and continued exertion could possibly repair. It 
 will be seen, however, that a great improvement 
 gradually followed, and that agriculture had not 
 been neglected, for in the year 1754 the colony had 
 advanced to a wonderful pitch of prosperity, and 
 seems to have satisfied the wishes of the proprietors 
 of the soil, as well as the most sanguine expecta- 
 tions of the government. It is said by an anony- 
 mous writer, that " the various commodities ex- 
 ported from the island amounted to a million and a 
 quarter sterhng, and the imports to one million 
 seven hundred and seventy-seven thousand five 
 hundred and nine pounds. There were fourteen 
 thousand white inhabitants, nearly four thousand 
 free mulattoes, and one hundred and seventy-two 
 thousand negroes ; five hundred and ninety-nine 
 sugar plantations, three thousand three hundred 
 and seventy-nine of indigo, ninety-eight thousand 
 nine hundred and forty-six cocoa-trees, six million 
 three hundred thousand three hundred and sixty- 
 seven cotton plants, and about twenty-two millions 
 of cassia-trees, sixty-three thousand horses and 
 mules, ninety-three thousand head of horned cattle, 
 six millions of bannana trees, upwards of one million 
 
 c2 
 
20 PRESENT STATE OF HAITI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 plots of potatoes, two hundred and twenty-six thou- 
 sand of yams, and nearly three million trenches of 
 marrioc." 
 
 From this period up to the French revolution 
 the colony advanced still further in prosperity, every 
 year adding to the wealth of the planters, and to 
 the revenue of the crown. Nothing could exceed 
 the condition into which the plantations had been 
 brought by their owners ; a steady and enlightened 
 system of agriculture had been established, which 
 had been productive of the most beneficial results. 
 Every plantation, laid out with the greatest care 
 and neatness, was so arranged as to bring every part 
 of the soil into use in its proper order of succession 
 — ^not the least particle appears to have escaped the 
 eye of the owner, for what could not be rendered fit 
 for the production of the cane, served either for 
 cotton, coffee, indigo, or other plants. In the val- 
 leys surrounded by mountains, the access to which 
 for carriages was attended with some danger, and 
 consequently were chiefly in pasture, the verdure 
 was astonishing. These valleys having small rivu- 
 lets or streams running through them, and shaded 
 by occasional groups of trees and shrubs, which 
 grew spontaneously on the margins of a spring, or 
 round any body of water that might occasionally be 
 collected from the mountain falls, became extremely 
 valuable for the raising of cattle for the consump- 
 tion of the planters, and on this account extremely 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 21 
 
 profitable to their owners; for here the animals could 
 graze undisturbed and cool under a meridian sun, 
 and range unmolested, indulging in the richness of 
 the surrounding herbage. The culture of the land 
 for the sugar-cane at this period seems to have en- 
 gaged the greatest attention of the planter, for at 
 no time had such amazing crops been produced as 
 in the year preceding the revolution ; the soil in the 
 plains of the north, Artibanite and the Cul de Sac, 
 being peculiarly adapted for it, from its extreme 
 strength and excellent quality, and from its situa- 
 tion, which enabled it to receive the aid of irriga- 
 tion in seasons when drought prevails. The estates 
 also appropriated to the production of sugar exhibit- 
 ed a degree of uniformity and order, in all the 
 departments of plantation labour, which can scarcely 
 be exceeded even at the present period, when the 
 system is supposed to have become more mature, 
 and its true principles better understood. 
 
 The coffee plantations had at this time arrived at 
 great perfection — they w^re extensive, and exceed- 
 ingly fruitful ; for the genius and industry of the 
 proprietors were exerted to their utmost limits in 
 this branch of agriculture. Every property was di- 
 vided and subdivided into small fields, in which the 
 trees were planted with all that nicety and regula- 
 rity which is often seen in a well regulated nursery. 
 The pruning-knife and the hoe were regularly ap- 
 plied to the trees requiring to be dismembered of 
 
22 PEESEXT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 tlieir superfluous branches, and wanting nurture at 
 their half expiring roots. The cotton and indigo 
 plantations had also arrived at the height of excel- 
 lence in planting, and it was not possible that 
 greater abundance could have been obtained from 
 them, than that which was usually returned at or a 
 few years previously to the convulsion which took 
 place. The cocoa tree was also at this time exceed- 
 ingly flourishing, and much care and attention were 
 bestowed upon its cultivation ; its produce being 
 found an article of no inconsiderable demand, and 
 extremely profitable in the returns which it yielded 
 the cultivator. 
 
 A better or clearer proof cannot be given of the 
 highly improved state of agriculture at this time, 
 than by a reference to the number of plantations 
 which had been established, and to the quantity of 
 produce which had been exported to France, with 
 the value of the whole, as estimated by persons 
 whose authority may be relied on, and who were 
 doubtless competent judges, from having in the 
 island filled situations which gave them opportuni- 
 ties of fairly estimating everything connected with 
 the country, 
 
 Moreau St. Mery, a writer of great credit, and a 
 native of St. Domingo, states, " that in the year 
 1791 there were, in the French division alone, 
 seven hundred and ninety-three sugar estates, seven 
 hundred and eighty-nine cotton plantations, three 
 
CHAP. l] Oil SAINT DOMINGO. 23 
 
 thousand one hundred and seventeen of coffee, 
 three thousand one hundred and fifty of indigo, 
 fifty-four cocoa manufactories, and six hundred 
 and twenty-three smaller settlements, on which 
 were produced large quantities of Indian corn, rice, 
 pulse, and almost every description of vegetables 
 required for the consumption of the people. There 
 were also forty thousand horses, fifty thousand 
 mules, and two hundred and fifty thousand cattle 
 and sheep ; and that the quantity of land actually 
 in cultivation was about two million two hundred 
 and eighty-nine thousand four hundred and eighty 
 acres.^ 
 
 The quantity of produce exported from the island 
 to Friince appears, by various accounts, to have 
 been very large indeed, furnishing a very strong 
 corroboration of the flourishing state of the colony, 
 and of the extent to which agriculture had been 
 carried. It would appear that not much regard 
 was paid to other means by which the prosperity of 
 the country might have been enhanced, the inha- 
 bitants resting solely on the culture of the soil to 
 exalt the island in the eyes of the parent state, and 
 to make it an appendage worthy to be cherished and 
 protected. Mr. Edwards and others have stated 
 the amount of exports as follows : that is to say, 
 about one hundred and sixty-three millions four 
 hundred thousand pounds of sugar, sixty-eight mil- 
 lions one liundrcd and fifty thousand pounds of 
 
24 PKESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 coffee, six millions two hundred and eighty-six 
 thousand pounds of cotton, nine hundred and thirty 
 thousand pounds of indigo, twenty-nine thousand 
 hogsheads of molasses, and three hundred punclieons 
 of rum. Walton, in his Appendix, enumerates 
 many other articles of export besides those which I 
 have named, and he states the quantity of each much 
 larger, and values the whole at about six millions and 
 ninety-four thousand two hundred and thirty pounds, 
 English money. The same writer observes, that the 
 value of the imports into the country about that 
 time from France was four millions one hundred 
 and twenty-five thousand six hundred and ten 
 pounds sterling. At this period, also, it appears 
 from authority, that the population amounted to 
 about forty thousand white people, twenty-eight 
 thousand free persons of colour, and about four 
 hundred and fifty -five thousand slaves ; and that the 
 valuation of the whole of the plantations in culture, 
 with the buildings, slaves, cattle, and every imple- 
 ment for the use of agriculture, was estimated at 
 fourteen hundred and ninety millions of livres, or 
 somewhat about seventy millions English money. 
 
 The Sjianish division of Hayti is said to contain 
 two-thirds of the whole, and is estimated at about 
 three thousand one hundred and fifty square leagues, 
 an extent of country capable of affording the means 
 of subsistence to a population of at least seven mil- 
 lions of souls. In local advantages this part cer- 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 25 
 
 tainly exceeds the western division, from its soil 
 being almost in a virgin state, and a very large pro- 
 portion of its valleys and elevations never having 
 been tilled. The indolence and inactivity inherent 
 in the Spanish character have been displayed in all 
 their colours' in this part of St. Domingo ; for al- 
 though their district possessed all the natural means 
 required to raise them to an equal pitch of splen- 
 dour with their French neighbours, yet so powerfid 
 were their propensities for pleasure, and every spe- 
 cies of amusement, that they devoted but little of 
 their time to the improvement of their properties, 
 and they obtained from them but little beyond a 
 scanty supply for their own immediate wants. From 
 every source of information that can be consulted, 
 it appears that the Spaniards, from their earliest 
 settlement down to the period when they finally 
 quitted the country, depended more on their mines 
 than on anything that possibly could be derived 
 from either agriculture or commerce ; consequently 
 agriculture was in a backward state, and the culture 
 of the soil made but a very slow progress : indeed, 
 but a very small proportion of the country was in a 
 state of tillage ; the inhabitants merely paid a little 
 attention to the natural pastures which abounded in 
 all the plains of the east, and whose luxuriance and 
 verdure continued throughout the whole year. In 
 these they raised large herds of cattle, for which 
 they found a market, not only among their neigh- 
 
2G PRESENT STATE OF ilAYTI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 bours the French, who required a considerable sup- 
 ply for their estates, but they exported very large 
 quantities to Jamaica and Cuba. To the raising 
 of cattle, therefore, and to the occasional cutting 
 of wood — mahogany, cedar, and a variety of other 
 timbers for ornamental work, as well as dye-woods, 
 — did the Spaniards devote their time, and hence 
 did they contrive to satisfy their moderate and con- 
 tracted wants, without having recourse to tillage. 
 
 It has been observed, and I think very truly, 
 that the most important obstacle to the advance- 
 ment of this part of Hayti, was the policy pur- 
 sued by Spain towards her colonies. The system 
 of government under which she ruled her trans- 
 atlantic settlements seems to have been one of ex- 
 treme oppression, and of unexampled rigour, and, 
 from the earliest period of her sway, this system 
 was most rigidly enforced in Hispafieola. There 
 does not appear upon record any circumstance pre- 
 viously to the year I7OO, which evinced a disposition 
 on the part of Spain to promote the welfare of the 
 colony, by calling forth its local resources, and by 
 encouraging and tolerating settlers from others of 
 their unprofitable and barren islands, in which all 
 their energies and efforts had been fruitless and un- 
 availing. The high state of the west end, under 
 their prudent and more assiduous neighbours the 
 French, whose industry and perseverance had asto- 
 nished the world, and whose judicious and highly 
 
CHAP. I.] OK SAINT DOMINGO. 27 
 
 commendable system for promoting the cultivation 
 of tlieir country had become the theme of much 
 praise and admiration, seemed about this time to 
 have produced among the Spaniards some disposi- 
 tion to adopt measures for insuring to the parent 
 state a more lucrative trade from their colonies. 
 The force of example was too powerful to be resist- 
 ed, and even the Court of iMadrid began about this 
 time to devise measures which might improve, and 
 which might call into play all those resources which 
 this highly fertile and most congenial soil was known 
 to possess. Governors of known prudence and pa- 
 triotic zeal for the interest of their nation were select- 
 ed, and sent out, with injunctions to promote the in- 
 terests of agriculture, and to give a spur to commerce, 
 by opening an intercourse with their neighbours. 
 The wants of the French in cattle, mules, and horses, 
 were exceedingly extensive, and offered to the Spa- 
 niards an opportunity of improving their properties, 
 by providing a vent for the sale of their stock. It 
 gave an impulse to industry, and the once inert and 
 unconcerned Spanish planter became in time an 
 active and enterprising agriculturist, shaking off 
 tliat languor by which he had been previously cha- 
 racterized, and at length assuming a degree of ani- 
 mation and spirit, which enabled him to take ad- 
 vantage of those resources which nature had placed 
 within his reach. 
 
 A mutual interchange and good understanding 
 
28 PKESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAI'. I. 
 
 between the two powers of France and Spain having 
 taken place, this intercourse, become more frequent 
 and reciprocally beneficial, continued for a series of 
 years. In 1 790, however, this most important branch 
 of their commerce was cut off by the convulsion into 
 which the neighbouring province was thrown. All 
 that part of the population who dwelt on the 
 frontiers withdrew themselves into the interior, leav- 
 ing behind them their cattle, which fell into the 
 hands of their rapacious neighbours, whose inroads 
 caused much consternation amongst the proprie- 
 tors; but their slaves, from habit or from some 
 other powerful cause, remained unmoved and at- 
 tached to them, although they had before them such 
 strong incentives to revolt. Every appeal made by 
 these people (and it is said, that they made in- 
 numerable ones) to the cabinet of Spain for protec- 
 tion against the fatal example of the French divi- 
 sion, met with a very cold reception, if not a posi- 
 tive rejection. In this state of suspense and con- 
 tinued fear and alarm the people remained, until 
 the disgraceful treaty of Basle gave Hispaneola to 
 the republican government of France; and this 
 event I cannot better describe than in the language 
 of one of the most correct writers on this country *, 
 whom I shall here quote as an authority which has 
 been hitherto deemed unquestionable. Speaking of 
 
 # Walton. 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 29 
 
 this event, wliicli occurred in the year 1795, and of 
 the designs of the French rulers, he says, " though 
 busied in the plans of universal dominion on their 
 own continent, their cabinet did not lose sight or 
 cease to entertain a hope of again possessing colonies 
 abroad, and they were well aware which were the 
 most desirable. Perhaps no system of invasion 
 had been longer or more deeply premeditated, and 
 digested with more mysterious secrecy, than the 
 entire subjugation of Spain and her American set- 
 tlements, in which, besides the common views of 
 aggrandizement, their constitutional enmity to the 
 reigning family acted as a powerful stimulus. This 
 policy was coeval with that ambition which marked 
 the first career of the present ruler of France and 
 the specious veil under which the hidden, but con- 
 tinued advances were regularly made towards the 
 end iLi view, adds to the guilt of duplicity and in- 
 gratitude, when we consider that Spain has scrupu- 
 lously maintained her treaty of alliance and has ful- 
 filled the stipulations entered into in 1795, not- 
 withstanding all the three changes that have given 
 other names to the French government, without al- 
 tering its entity, or revolutionary or destructive 
 system ; that the cabinets of Madrid have bended 
 to a degree of abject condescension, rather than be 
 precipitated into a war ; that they have sacrificed 
 the interests and inclinations of their people, and. 
 
30 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [c'HAP. T. 
 
 liave been driven at length into a state of non-re- 
 prisal, rather than risk a warfare with a nation they 
 respected, and though an ally, furnishing both men 
 and money under promises to share in the conquests 
 made, they have been treated rather as a faithless 
 neutral without claim, representation, or character, 
 and thus their country has been impoverished and 
 laid waste, and the supports of national union and 
 energy undermined." 
 
 Further, in continuation of this disgraceful treaty, 
 by which Spain so abjectly submitted to surrender 
 her colony to France, he says, " by this instrument of 
 diplomatic intrigue and subtlety Hispafieola was made 
 over unreservedly to France; the oldest subjects of 
 the Spanish crown in the western world were thus 
 bartered like so many sheep, and an island, not the 
 capture of an enemy during war, and given up at its 
 termination, but one that had descended to them as a 
 primitive right, and had formed the glory of the pre- 
 ceding monarchs, who saw it discovered and settled. 
 When possession was given in further aggravation 
 of the Spanish natives, the transfer was received by 
 Toussaint at the head of the intrusive settlers of one 
 division of the island, with whom the former had 
 previously and generously shared their territory; 
 in short by a horde of emancipated slaves to whom 
 the French republic had given equality, consistence, 
 and power, and who now came to erect a new 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 31 
 
 Standard on the spot consecrated by the labours and 
 ashes of Columbus, and long revered as an object of 
 national pride/"' 
 
 " In justice to the Dominican people it may be 
 said, that none of the Spanish settlements possess 
 more of the amor patriae which ought to distinguish 
 loyal subjects: they received the news as a thunder- 
 bolt, and the country presented an universal scene 
 of lamentation. They appealed to the humanity 
 of their sovereign, but without effect, and then had 
 recourse to remonstrances.'*'' 
 
 Receiving no answer to their prayers or to their 
 remonstrances, the people were left in a state bor- 
 dering on despondency, with the only alternative 
 of leaving their native land, or of swearing alle- 
 giance to a power in whom they could not confide, 
 and which they had been taught to detest. Emi- 
 gration therefore was determined on, and all orders — 
 nuns, friars, clergy, and men of property and in- 
 fluence — with their famiUes and their slaves, em- 
 barked for Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Spanish main, 
 leaving behind them their possessions, to seek a 
 shelter, and to find homes and occupations, in a 
 country in which they might be protected by laws 
 to which they had been accustomed, and submit 
 to a government which they had been taught to re- 
 spect. The extent of this emigration was consider- 
 able, and is said to have amounted to one third of the 
 population; and it is evident from a subsequent 
 
33 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 census that tins was not an exaggeration, and that 
 so large a proportion of the people absolutely left 
 the country, abandoning their abodes and much 
 wealth rather than submit to a people whom they 
 hated as the usurpers of their possessions. 
 
 In the years 1789 and 1790, about which time the 
 first disturbances among the slaves in the French part 
 of the island commenced, it appears the Spanish divi- 
 sion contained about one hundred and fifty thousand 
 souls or upwards ; but by a subsequent census taken 
 immediately after the cession to the French, and after 
 the spirit for emigration had in some measure sub- 
 sided, there remained only about one hundred thou- 
 sand of all descriptions, a very strong proof of the 
 detestation in which the Spaniards held this treaty, 
 which assigned them over as subjects of the re- 
 publican government of France. It is very evident, 
 however, whatever impressions this arrangement 
 might have made on the Spanish colonists, that it was 
 one dictated by the rulers in France, and therefore ac- 
 cepted from_ necessity, and not from choice. The 
 infamous Godoy, Prince of Peace (which high sound- 
 ing title was confirmed by this treaty) was the lead- 
 ing personage in its negotiation, and being secretly 
 leagued with the French ministry, became a will- 
 ing instrument in consigning this bright and valu- 
 able appendage of the Spanish crown to the more 
 designing and crafty schemes of the French cabinet, 
 which had been from the beginning of their ambi- 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAIXT DOMINGO. 33 
 
 tious aim at universal dominion, not unmindful of 
 the advantages that were to be derived from colo- 
 nial possessions. When it is seen that the mistaken 
 and weak policy, as well as the pusillanimity of the 
 Spanish cabinet, caused so great a sacrifice as the 
 dismemberment of their most valuable colony, it be- 
 comes a matter of no astonishment that the people 
 should relax in their efforts to aid the means and 
 resources of their parent state, by any exertions, in 
 the cultivation of their lands, beyond what might be 
 requisite for their own support. As this neglect and 
 heedless inattention to their prosperity had been 
 for a series of years observable, and as every incen- 
 tive to industry was checked by the measures of the 
 crown, it is not to be wondered at that this division 
 of the island did not advance at the same rate as 
 that which was under the dominion of France. 
 However manifest the declension of the colony was to 
 Spain, she never made any movements, nor adopted 
 any means indicating a desire to revive the droop- 
 ing energies of the colonists, and reinstate them in 
 their former easy circumstances and affluence. If 
 the cabinet of Madrid had had recourse to those 
 wise plans which would have promoted the cause of 
 agriculture and commerce, instead of becoming a 
 calm and unconcerned spectator of the decline of 
 both, this colony might still have remained the most 
 brilliant gem in the Spanish crown. A people who 
 had, from the example of their neighboui's, and by 
 
34 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, {cHAP. I. 
 
 an impulse the most surprising, been roused from a 
 state of lethargy and inactivity to great exertions in 
 the culture of the soil, in the breeding of cattle, and 
 in commercial enterprise, might have exalted their 
 country to the highest possible state of prosperity, 
 had their efforts been seconded by the regulations 
 of a wise government, and had that protection been 
 given to them to which they were surely entitled ; but 
 instead of such support and protection, instead of 
 being watched over and guarded by their parent 
 state, their prayers, their petitions, and entreaties, 
 were unattended to, and they were given up as a 
 prey to their rebellious and uncivilized neighbours, 
 who used every exertion to throw their country into 
 a state of anarchy and confusion. The individual 
 and unsupported energies of the colonists, however, 
 were roused by the alarming predicament into which 
 they had been thrown, through the apathy and su- 
 pineness of the cabinet ©f Spain, and they effec- 
 tually stopped the incursions of the pillagers for a 
 time, prevented the destruction of their towns and 
 plantations, and finally, by their firmness and per- 
 sevemnce, saved their properties from the devasta- 
 tions which had destroyed those of the western di- 
 vision. 
 
 To the astonishment of the world, the slaves, as I 
 have before remarked, adhered with extraordinary 
 fidelity to the cause of their masters, and evinced 
 no disposition to become participators in the work 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 35 
 
 of rebellion, nor to enrich themselves by the spoils 
 obtained by plunder, rapine, and every kind of pre- 
 datory warfare. Although the example to throw off 
 the yoke of slavery was constantly before them, few 
 were the instances in which a slave joined the in- 
 surgents. Such an attachment on the part of the 
 slave towards his master, however, is not to be won- 
 dered at, when it is known, that the Spaniards were 
 kind, indulgent, and liberal owners, always attentive 
 to their wants, and alive to their comforts ; seldom 
 inflicting punishment, except for flagrant acts of in- 
 subordination and theft, but treating them with a le- 
 niency and humanity which softened the rigours of 
 slavery, and left it to be known only by name. 
 
 Notwithstanding the enmity which always existed 
 between the two colonies, a smuggling trade was 
 carried on, which, although not very extensive, was 
 exceedingly productive to the Spaniards, as it took 
 off part of their horned cattle, mules, horses, &c., 
 and in return for which they received the products 
 and manufactures of Europe, and slaves, which they 
 could not obtain by the regular course of importa- 
 tion, on any thing like the same moderate or favour^ 
 able terms. It is stated, that the French purchased 
 annually upwards of twenty-five thousand head of 
 horned cattle and about two thousand five hun- 
 dred mules and horses ; and that the Spaniards also 
 transmitted upwards of half a million of dollars in 
 specie during the year, for the purchase of goods, 
 
 D 2 
 
36 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. I. 
 
 implements of agriculture, and negroes. Large 
 shipments of mahogany and dye-woods found their 
 way to Spain and different parts of Europe, and the 
 United States, and indirectly to England : and a 
 considerable intercourse existed with the islands of 
 Porto Rico, Cuba, and Jamaica, to which latter two 
 islands cattle were exported, and mahogany and 
 dye-woods found a market in Jamaica more advan- 
 tageous than any that could be found in Europe, 
 owing to their being able to procure their returns in 
 a more direct way than through the mother-country 
 or any of the European states. 
 
 The commerce with Porto Rico and the Spanish 
 main was also productive of some profit to the peo- 
 ple of St. Domingo. The advantages accruing to 
 the former arose from the facilities of smuggling, by 
 which the enormous duties on foreign European 
 goods of thirty-four per cent, in most cases were 
 saved ; and these goods could be purchased in St. 
 Domingo on more moderate terms, from having 
 been illicitly obtained from the French part of the 
 island. 
 
 The trade to the United States was also of no 
 little importance ; for the vessels of that country 
 took large quantities of mahogany, hides, some cof- 
 fee, and a little dye-wood, in return for the cargoes 
 which they brought thither, consisting of flour, beef, 
 pork, butter, salted herrings, and dried cod-fish, 
 with some East India goods, and various descrip- 
 
CHAP. I.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 37 
 
 tions of lumber of America, more useful and easy 
 in working for buildings than the hard wood of the 
 country. The aggregate value of the exports and 
 imports of this part of the island I have seen no- 
 where correctly stated: it is very evident, however, 
 from the various accounts which I have seen, that it 
 was infinitely less than the aggregate of the French 
 part ; and this may be safely confided in from the 
 extremely fertile state of the one, when compared 
 with the uncultivated condition of the other; from 
 the industrious, the assiduous, and enterprising spi- 
 rit, so characteristic of the French colonist, aided 
 by the judicious measures of the cabinet of France, 
 which sought to protect and encourage the agricul- 
 ture and commerce of her colonies, whilst the Spa- 
 niards of the eastern division were left to pursue 
 both their agricultural and commercial avocations 
 under every species of discouragement and restraint. 
 The energy displayed by one government, and the 
 very relaxed system pursued by the other, accounts 
 for the flourishing state of one part of this rich co- 
 lony, whilst its rival was steeped in poverty: no- 
 thing, therefore, is left for conjecture as to the 
 cause of so great a contrast ; and both having sub- 
 sequently been shaken by the effects of those per- 
 nicious doctrines so generally propagated at the Re- 
 volution, little is to be seen of the antecedent state 
 of either, and chaos, ignorance, and indolence have 
 superseded order, light, and industry. 
 
38 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. [cHAP. I. 
 
 Such was the state of the island at and during the 
 two or three succeeding years of the revolution, as 
 related by several writers, and confirmed by informa- 
 tion obtained from individuals now residing in the 
 country, who were present during the troubles which 
 agitated and destroyed it, and reduced them from 
 the height of affluence and peace into misery, and 
 oftentimes into want — from them, much, of course, 
 was to be elicited ; and although I thought it a 
 matter of prudence and a necessary caution, not to 
 rely too implicitly on their communications, yet I 
 always found them justly entitled to my confidence, 
 on the fullest investigation. I never had a cause to 
 question their veracity. Their account of the 
 scenes which took place during the early stages and 
 progress of the revolution, accords with the state- 
 ments of others who have described them, and I 
 have not been able to discover any discrepances be- 
 tween them. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Cause of the revolution in the colony. — People of co- 
 lour in France. — Their proceedings. — League with the 
 society of Amis des Noirs. — Oge's rebellion. — His de- 
 feat and death. — Conduct of the proprietors and plant- 
 ers. — Consequences of it. 
 
 It has been very erroneously thought by some per- 
 sons, who feel interested in the fate of the slave 
 population of the West Indies, or at all events they 
 have, with no little industry, propagated the im- 
 pression, that the revolution in Hayti begun with the 
 revolt of the blacks, when it is evident, from the 
 very best authors and from the testimony of people 
 now living, who were present during its opening 
 scenes, that such was not the fact, and that the 
 slaves remained perfectly tranquil for two years after 
 the celebrated " Declaration of Rights" was pro- 
 mulgated in France. Such persons give themselves 
 but little trouble in searching the history of the 
 island — they are satisfied with the report of others, 
 who maybe equally uninformed with themselves ; and 
 thus it is that they imbibe ideas and notions of the 
 w^onderful capacities of the negro population, who 
 could have commenced, and so effectually carried 
 
40 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. II. 
 
 themselves through a struggle for freedom, without, 
 as they allege, the aid of any other more enlightened 
 or more powerful auxiliary. It requires no observa- 
 tion of mine to shew that the first symptom of dis- 
 order shewed itself among that class of people in 
 the colony denominated, at the time, Sang-melees, 
 or Gens de Couleur, or, as termed in the British co- 
 lonies, mulattoes, who from their numbers formed a 
 very powerful body, and not being countenanced 
 by the whites, became in time inveterately opposed 
 to them : many of them, natives of the colony and of 
 the other French islands, were residing in France at 
 the time of the Revolution, and these consisted of 
 persons who had been sent thither in early life for 
 their education, together with others who possessed 
 considerable property, as well as some talent and 
 intelligence. At this period also, from an extra- 
 ordinary prejudice that prevailed in France against 
 the inhabitants of the colonies, arising from an 
 aversion to the principles of slavery, and which was 
 much encouraged by the denunciation against every- 
 thing having the least appearance of despotism, a 
 society was established, denominated "Amis des 
 Noirs'"* (Friends of the Blacks), which aimed at the 
 subversion of the government, and called for an im- 
 mediate abolition of the slave-trade, as well as a 
 general emancipation of all those who were at the 
 time living in a state of slavery. 
 
 "With these people" (meaning the men of colour 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 41 
 
 in France), says a writer on this subject, "the so- 
 ciety of Amis des Noirs formed an intimate connec- 
 tion. Their personal appearance excited pity, and, 
 cooperating with the spirit of the times and the 
 representations of those who deeply sympathized 
 upon principles of humanity with their condition, 
 all ranks of people became clamorous against the 
 white colonists, and their total annihilation was 
 threatened." Not long after the formation of this 
 union of feeling and sentiment between the friends 
 of the blacks and the men of colour in France, the 
 national assembly promulgated their famous decla- 
 ration of rights, an act certainly contemplating the 
 destruction of all order, and having an evident ten- 
 dency to excite the lower classes of the people into 
 every species of insubordination and general ferm.ent ; 
 one of its leading and most important clauses 
 being, that ''all men are born and continue free 
 and equal as to their rights.'''' 
 
 The society of Amis des Noirs, aided by a cor- 
 responding institution in London, together with the 
 united body of the coloured people in France, lost no 
 time in sending out this very celebrated declaration, 
 and in disseminating its principles throughout the 
 whole island; their efforts were not unavaiUng, for 
 the mulattoes, conscious that the French nation 
 were favourable towards their designs of demanding 
 a restitution of their rights, and the full and un- 
 qualified enjoyment of those privileges hitherto con- 
 
42 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [(HAP. II. 
 
 fined to the white colonists, had recourse to arms, 
 and appeared in bodies for the purpose of awing the 
 provincial assemblies into concession ; but their num- 
 ber not being great, they were in the onset easily 
 subdued. It is said, however, that notwithstanding 
 this check to their progress, the assemblies were 
 much disposed to concede to the demands of the 
 mulattoes; but in no instance could they think of 
 permitting those white inhabitants to participate in 
 these privileges, who had in any way cooperated 
 with them. Several of the civil officers of the colo- 
 ny and magistrates declaimed against slavery, and 
 openly avowed themselves supporters of the decla- 
 ration of the national assembly of the mother-coun- 
 try ; they were arrested by the provincial assemblies, 
 and committed to prison, and such was the irritation 
 and fury of the mob, that Mons. Beaudierre, a 
 respectable magistrate at Petit Goane, was taken out 
 by force, and, in spite of the municipality and other 
 powers, put to death. In some cases the governor 
 successfully interposed, and those who were most 
 obnoxious to the people were conveyed out of the co- 
 lony by secret means. During all these outrages, there 
 is no account upon record of the negroes taking any 
 part, and the fact seems to be established, that at 
 this period they were quite tranquil and unmoved, 
 although their several proprietors were concerned 
 either for or against the measures from which the 
 agitations sprung. 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 43 
 
 It appears that the governor of the colony had 
 lost a great deal of his popularity, and consequently 
 of his power, by his interposition ; for a general co- 
 lonial assembly, convoked in January 1790 by 
 order from the king, determined that his instruc- 
 tions were imperfect and inapplicable, and the people 
 therefore proceeded on a plan of their own, and 
 changed both the time and the place at which the 
 assembly should be held. Nothing could have 
 emanated from the deliberations of the body con- 
 voked by this determination of the people, for the 
 discontented and confiised state of the colony being 
 soon known in the mother-country, and an appre- 
 hension having arisen that the island was likely 
 soon to be declared independent, the national as- 
 sembly, in March 1790, came to the following deci- 
 sion : " That it never was the intention of the as- 
 sembly to comprehend the interior government of 
 the colonies in the constitution which they had 
 framed for the mother- country, or to subject them 
 to laws which were incompatible with their local 
 establishments ; they therefore authorize the inha- 
 bitants of each colony to signify to the national as- 
 sembly their sentiments and wishes concerning the 
 plan of interior legislation and commercial arrange- 
 ment which would be most conducive to their pros- 
 perity." Then followed a resolution, " That the 
 national assembly would not cause any innovation 
 to be made, directly or indirectly, in any system of 
 
44 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. 11. 
 
 commerce in which the colonies were already con- 
 cerned.'' * 
 
 The people of colour and the society of Amis 
 des Noirs were, as it might have been anticipated, 
 thrown into considerable alarm by the promulgation 
 of a decree of so ambiguous a character, and no 
 little surprise and consternation followed its appear- 
 ance in the island. It was construed into an ac- 
 quiescence in the further continuance of the slave- 
 trade ; it was also conceived to confer upon the 
 colonists the power of settling and affixing their co- 
 lonial constitutions, and to absolve them from their 
 allegiance to the French crov/n. 
 
 The first general assembly of the island which 
 was convoked after these decrees had been received, 
 and had excited the astonishment of the people, 
 was held at St. Marc on the 16th of April I79O. 
 Their deliberative functions commenced with a dis- 
 cussion vipon the hardships to which the people of 
 colour were subjected under the military system of 
 the colony, and it was determined, that on no sub- 
 sequent occasion should they be required to perform 
 more duty than was usually exacted from the 
 whites. 
 
 An inquiry into the abuses alleged to prevail in 
 the colonial courts of judicature, and the discussion 
 of a new plan of colonial government, were the 
 
 * Anonymous. 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 45 
 
 principal subjects which occupied the attention of 
 the assembly until the end of May, when it was ad- 
 journed or prorogued. 
 
 M. Paynier was at this time governor- general of 
 St. Domingo : he had neither the capacity nor the 
 disposition required for administering the affairs of 
 the colony at such a period. Instead of being ac- 
 tuated with the desire of conciliating the parties 
 opposed to each other, he secretly gave every pos- 
 sible aid and encouragement to the supporters of 
 ancient despotism. The appearance of Colonel 
 Mauduit, however, a man of some talent and energy, 
 effected a change ; for he soon acquired much influ- 
 ence over the governor-general, and prevented the 
 coalition which was about to take place between the 
 assembly and the mulattoes ; and declaring himself 
 the protector of the latter, he speedily gained over to 
 his interest the greater part of that class of people. 
 The planters at this time, too, were in an undecided 
 state, wavering in their opinions, and fixed to no 
 measures likely to preserve the tranquillity of the 
 island, and there was not one of their body capable 
 of impressing them with a due sense of the condi- 
 tion into which they were likely to be precipitated 
 by their want of energy and decision. Forming as 
 they did a numerous class of the inhabitants, had 
 they been unanimous in their opinions, and united 
 in their views, the repose of the colony would in all 
 probability have been preserved. Such not being 
 
46 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. II. 
 
 the case, however, and some of the provincial as- 
 semblies making efforts to counteract the measures 
 of the general one, a civil war seemed likely to be 
 the result of so much diversity of sentiment. The 
 decree of the general colonial assembly of the 28th 
 of May was indicative of an approaching convul- 
 sion, which before long might be expected to burst 
 forth; the preamble to this decree exhibited senti- 
 ments which seemed to breathe a spirit hostile to 
 the peace of the people. The articles themselves 
 assume it as a branch of the prerogative of the 
 crown to confirm or annul the acts of the colonial 
 legislature at pleasure. These articles are import- 
 ant, and I shall detail them as they have been given 
 by others. 
 
 " First. The legislative authority, in every thing 
 which relates to the internal concerns of the colony 
 (regime interieur), is vested in the assembly of its 
 representatives, which shall be called ' The General 
 Assembly of the French Part of St. Domingo." 
 
 " Secondly. No act of the legislative body, in 
 what relates to the internal concerns of the colony, 
 shall be considered as a law definitive, unless it may 
 be made by the representatives of the French part 
 of St. Domingo, freely and legally chosen, and con- 
 firmed by the king. 
 
 " Thirdly. In cases of urgent necessity, a legis- 
 lative decree of the general assembly, in what re- 
 lates to the internal concerns of the colony, shall 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAIXT DOMIXGO. 47 
 
 be considered as a law provisional. In all such 
 cases the decree shall be notified forthwith to the 
 governor-general, who, within ten days after such 
 notification, shall cause it to be published and en- 
 forced, or transmit to the general assembly his ob- 
 servations thereon. 
 
 " Fourthly. The necessity of the case, on which 
 the execution of such provisional decree is to de- 
 pend, shall be a separate question, and be carried in 
 the affirmative by a majority of two-thirds of the 
 general assembly ; the names and numbers being 
 taken down (prises par Tappel nominal). 
 
 " Fifthly. If the governor-general shall send 
 down his observations on any such decree, the same 
 shall be entered in the journals of the general as- 
 sembly, who shall then proceed to revise the decree, 
 and consider the observations thereon, in three se- 
 veral sittings. The votes for confirming or annul- 
 ling the decree shall be given in the words Yes or 
 No, and a minute of the proceedings shall be signed 
 by the members present, in which shall be enume- 
 rated the votes on each side of the question, and if 
 there appears a majority of two-thirds for confirming 
 the decree, it shall be immediately enforced by the 
 governor-general. 
 
 " Sixthly. As every law ought to be founded on 
 the consent of those who are to be bound by it, the 
 French part of St. Domingo shall be allowed to 
 propose regulations concerning commercial arrange- 
 
48 PEESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. II. 
 
 ments, and the system of mutual connexion (rap- 
 ports commerciaux, et autres rapports communs), 
 and the decrees which the national assembly shall 
 make in all such cases, shall not he enforced in the 
 colony., Kntil the general assembly shall have con- 
 sented thereto, 
 
 '• Seventhly. In cases of pressing necessity, the 
 importation of articles for the support of the inha- 
 bitants shall not be considered as any breach of the 
 system of commercial regulations between St. Do- 
 mingo and France ; provided that the decrees to be 
 made in such cases by the general assembly shall be 
 submitted to the revision of the governor-general, 
 under the same conditions and modifications as are 
 prescribed in articles three and five. 
 
 *' Eighthly. Provided also, that every legislative 
 act of the general assembly executed provisionally, 
 in cases of urgent necessity, shall be transmitted 
 forthwith for the royal sanction. And if the king 
 shall refuse his consent to any such act, its execu- 
 tion shall be suspended as soon as the king's refusal 
 shall be legally notified to the general assembly. 
 
 " Ninthly. A new general assembly shall be 
 chosen every two years, and none of the members 
 who have served in the former assembly shall be 
 eligible in the new one. 
 
 " Tenthly. The general assembly decree that the 
 preceding articles, as forming part of the constitu- 
 tion of the French colony in St. Domingo, shall be 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 49 
 
 immediately transmitted to France for the accept- 
 ance of the national assembly and the king. They 
 shall likewise be transmitted to all the parishes and 
 districts of the colony, and be notified to the go- 
 vernor-general." 
 
 It was not likely that a decree, the articles of 
 which were thus opposed to the maintenance of 
 order, could exact the acquiescence and submission 
 of the people, and lead them to an approval of that 
 which seemed to aim at the destruction of all sub- 
 ordination. Serious apprehensions arose as to the 
 measures which would be adopted and pursued at 
 this juncture, to avert the impending storm which 
 was expected at no distant period to burst forth. 
 
 It was imagined, and was a received opinion, that 
 the " declaring of the colony an independent state, 
 in imitation of the English American provinces ", 
 was certain, and every effort was made to avert such 
 a proceeding. No obedience to the general assem- 
 bly could be enforced. The inhabitants of Cape 
 Francois were the first to set the example of re- 
 nouncing all respect for that body, and of calling 
 upon the governor-general to dissolve them. With 
 this request he instantly complied, charging the 
 general assembly with a design of undermining the 
 peace of the colony, by forming projects of inde- 
 pendency, contrary to the voice of the colonists ; he 
 even charged them with having been accessories or 
 instigators of the mutiny of the crew of one of the 
 
50 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. II. 
 
 king's ships, and pronouncing tliem traitors to tlieir 
 king and country, he declared that he should take 
 the most prompt and effective measures for bringing 
 them to that punishment for which their treachery 
 so loudly called. 
 
 An attempt was made to arrest the committee of 
 the western provincial assembly, and a force under 
 M. Mauduit was sent for that purpose, but he failed 
 in effecting his object, for the members, hearing of 
 his approach, collected about four hundred of the 
 national guard for their defence, and M. Mauduit 
 retired after a skirmish or two, without any other 
 advantage than the capture of the national colours. 
 
 The general assembly being apprised of this at- 
 tack, immediately summoned the people to the sup- 
 port and protection of their representatives. The 
 northern provincial assembly adhered to the govern- 
 or-general, and, to oppose the progress of his op- 
 ponents, they sent him all the troops stationed in 
 that quarter, together with an additional force of 
 about two hundred mulattoes. The western pro- 
 vince collected a much greater force, and every- 
 thing seemed to indicate a sanguinary civil war, 
 when an event occurred which for a time averted all 
 those unhappy results that would inevitably have 
 taken place, had the opposing parties come in contact. 
 
 Most unexpectedly, at this momentous juncture, 
 for the purpose of trying the effect of a personal ap- 
 peal to the national assembly of France, the genera). 
 
CKAr. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 51 
 
 assembly of the island determined on a voyage to 
 Europe. About one hundred members, all that re- 
 mained of their body, from the effects of sickness 
 and desertion, embarked on board the Leopard (that 
 very ship, the crew of which had declared them- 
 selves in their interest a very short time previously) 
 on the 8th of August, and took their departiu'e, 
 hailed with the warmest acclamations of the popu- 
 lace, who could not restrain their admiration at so 
 extraordinary an act of devotion to the good of their 
 country. It is said, that '' tears of sensibility and 
 affection were shed at their departure by all classes 
 of people, and the parties in arms appeared mutually 
 disposed to submit their differences to the king and 
 the national assembly.'' 
 
 Immediately after this storm had subsided, every 
 effort was made by the governor-general, Paynier, 
 to restore confidence and tranquillity amongst the 
 people, and for some time, there was a strong indi- 
 cation of the peace of the colony being once more 
 established ; but the designs of the people of colour 
 in France, abetted by the society of Amis des Noirs, 
 at the head of which were some of the most violent 
 of the revolutionary characters of France, destroyed 
 all their hopes, and every species of anarchy and 
 confusion was anticipated from the proceedings of 
 these disseminators of the pernicious doctrine of 
 equality and the rights of man. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. II. 
 
 It was at this period that the first mulatto rebel- 
 lion took place, at the head of which was the famous 
 Oge, the protege and disciple of La Fayette and 
 Robespierre, a young man about thirty years of age, 
 and a native of the northern part of St. Domingo. 
 He had been educated in France at the expense 
 of his mother, a woman of property living near 
 Cape Fran9ois; having been admitted to the 
 meetings of the society of Amis des Noirs, he had 
 imbibed all their principles, and had become enthu- 
 siastic in demanding an equality of rights and pri- 
 vileges for his coloured brethren. Encouraged by 
 the society, and the revolutionary leaders, he left 
 France for the purpose of instigating his fellow co- 
 lonists of colour to take up arms in the assertion of 
 their claims. To give him something like an ap- 
 pearance of military command, the society purchased 
 for him the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the army of 
 one of the German states. To conceal his designs 
 from the king and the national assembly, he made a 
 circuitous voyage by North America ; but his object 
 was known before he left France, and intimation 
 was sent out to the governor-general that he had 
 embarked for St. Domingo, and that his scheme was 
 to excite his coloured brethren to arms. A descrip- 
 tion of his person, and I believe a portrait also, were 
 transmitted for the better discovery of him on his 
 arrival ; but notwithstanding every precaution, he 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO; 53 
 
 landed secretly, and tlie circumstance remained un- 
 known, until some weeks afterwards he wrote to the 
 governor, reviling him for his proceedings, and in the 
 name of all the mulattoes, of which he declared 
 himself to be the protector, demanding in the most 
 contumelious language the immediate execution of 
 all the statutes of the Code Noir, and that in all times 
 to come there should be no distinction, as to rights 
 and privileges, between the whites "and the other 
 inhabitants of the island. To give a greater force 
 as he thought to his demand, he vauntingly stated, 
 that unless the governor-general acceded to his pro- 
 positions, he should assert them by the force of arms. 
 Oge, however, was somewhat premature in his cal- 
 culations of support and aid in the carrying into effect 
 the object of his voyage ; for although some consi- 
 derable time had elapsed from his landing, and he 
 had the assistance of his brothers, who were tainted 
 with the same love of insubordination and tumult, he 
 never could collect at any one time more than from 
 two to three hundred to join him in his cause. He 
 encamped his followers near the Grand Riviere, and 
 it is said, that his brothers and another chief, Che- 
 vane, instigated their people to commit many ex- 
 cesses, and at times murdered the unoffending in- 
 habitants m the vicinity, with the most shocking 
 cruelty, whenever they declined to join in their pro- 
 ceedings. Instances were many, in which whole 
 families were murdered, from the circumstance of a 
 
54 a'RESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. IT. 
 
 father, or even a brother, refusing to take up arms 
 to favour their cause. 
 
 Supported by so small a body, and no simul- 
 taneous movement taking place in any other part of 
 the colony, the career of Oge and his associates was 
 not likely to be of any long duration. Steps were 
 immediately taken by the governor to suppress the 
 revolt, and to bring the leaders to trial, if it were 
 found practicable to apprehend them. Troops and 
 the Cape militia were sent to oppose them, when a 
 skirmish ensued in which many of the rebels fell, 
 and some were taken prisoners. Oge escaped with 
 Chevane ; but as it was known that they had fled 
 into the Spanish territory, they were demanded by 
 the successor of Peynier, M. Blanchelande (the 
 former having resigned his command, and em- 
 barked for Europe,) who brought them to trial in 
 March 1791, and they were condemned: Oge and 
 Chevane to be broken on the wheel, and his brother 
 and some of his followers to be hanged. The for- 
 titude of Chevane never forsook him to the last, 
 and he met his fate with extraordinary resolution 
 and courage ; but Oge exhibited the greatest pusil- 
 lanimity, supplicating in the most abject manner 
 that mercy might be extended to him. It appears 
 that a respite was granted to him, in consideration 
 of his promise to make the most important disco- 
 veries were his life spared. He made a full confes- 
 sion before commissioners appointed for that pur- 
 
CHAP, II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 55 
 
 pose, and in that confession was detailed tlie whole 
 plan which the coloured people had devised to excite 
 the negro population to open rebellion. 
 
 It seemed a case of peculiar hardship, if not of 
 great injustice, and breach of all faith and honour, 
 that after the unfortunate and deluded man had 
 made such important disclosures, and had informed 
 the governor of the whole of their designs, by 
 which their further progress might be defeated, his 
 life should be sacrificed ; mercy having been held 
 out as the price of his confession, it should have 
 been extended to him, for this he had unquestion- 
 ably, upon every principle of justice, a right to ex- 
 pect and to demand. Why it should not have been 
 granted to him, no reason has been assigned. He 
 was executed immediately after, and at the fatal 
 spot he shewed neither the firmness, fortitude, nor 
 the mind of a brave man suffering in that cause of 
 which he had been the leader. 
 
 The proceedings of the government with respect 
 to the revolt of Oge, and the very unjust execution 
 of the latter, excited great animosity between the 
 whites and the people of colour, the latter of whom 
 had collected in large bodies in various parts. In 
 the western and southern districts they formed en- 
 campments, and displayed a determination to resist 
 the oppression and the unjust decrees of the go- 
 vernor. At Jeremie, and at Aux Cazes in particu- 
 lar, a most formidable body had collected, well 
 
56 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. II. 
 
 armed and accoutred, and shewed a great desire to 
 come in contact with the government troops. It 
 has been generally admitted that Mauduit, who 
 commanded the troops of the government, was in 
 secret conference with their leaders, and that on 
 several occasions he appeared among them singly, 
 and consulted with them, advising them not to de- 
 sist from their purpose, but to move forward with 
 energy and perseverance. That he did this traitor- 
 ously, is evident, for having obtained intelligence of 
 the whole of their plans through this ruse, he availed 
 himself of it for the purpose of defeating them, and 
 as it afterwards turned out, the mulattoes were dis- 
 persed and obliged to seek refuge in any place where 
 it was not likely that they could be known or disco- 
 vered. 
 
 The members of the colonial assembly who had 
 gone to France for the purpose of laying their com- 
 plaints at the foot of the throne, were not received 
 with much favour; on the contrary, having ap- 
 peared at the bar of the national assembly they were 
 dismissed with considerable disappointment and 
 chagrin. The report of the committee appointed 
 to examine their claims, displays no little disappro- 
 bation of the proceedings of the general colonial as- 
 sembly. It concludes by saying, " that all the pre- 
 tended decrees and acts of the said colonial assembly 
 should be reversed and pronounced utterly null and 
 of no effect; that the said assembly should be de- 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 57 
 
 clared dissolved, and its members rendered ineligi- 
 ble and incapable of being delegated in future to 
 the colonial assembly of St. Domingo; that testimo- 
 nies of approbation should be transmitted to the 
 northern provincial assembly, to Colonel Mauduit 
 and the regiment of Port-au-Prince, for resisting the 
 proceedings at St. Marc's ; that the king should be 
 requested to give orders for the forming a new co- 
 lonial assembly on the principles of the national de- 
 cree of the 8th of March 1790, and instructions of 
 the 28th of the same month ; finally, that the ci- 
 devant members, then in France, should continue in 
 a state of arrest, until the national assembly might 
 find time to signify its further pleasure concerning 
 them." 
 
 Nothing could exceed the consternation which this 
 decree excited throughout the colony, and the indig- 
 nation of the people was manifest from one extremity 
 of it to the other. To have called another general 
 colonial assembly would have been an act of impos- 
 sibility, for the people in many districts absolutely 
 refused to return other representatives, declaring 
 those that were under arrest in France to be the only 
 legal ones, and that they would not proceed to an- 
 other election. 
 
 The national guards, who had for some time felt, 
 with no little mortification, the insult offered them by 
 Mauduit, who had previously carried off their co- 
 lours, evinced a disposition to resent the affront. 
 
58 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTT, [cHAF. II. 
 
 and to refuse all further adherence to the cause in 
 which they had enlisted ; and they were soon after 
 joined in their revolt by the very regiment of which 
 Mauduit was the commander, tearing the white 
 cockade from their hats, and indignantly refusing 
 obedience to him. Discovering the error into which 
 he had fallen, he offered to restore the national co- 
 lours, and appealed to them for protection against 
 insult, which these faithless wretches pledged. But 
 because he would not stoop to the humiliation of 
 begging pardon of the national guards on his 
 hnees^ he was, notwithstanding this pledge, on the 
 day appointed for the ceremony of restoring the co- 
 lours, suddenly pierced by the bayonets of those 
 very soldiers whom on innumerable occasions he 
 had so kindly and so liberally treated. The other 
 troops who happened to be present at this most das- 
 tardly and inhuman act, could not witness it with- 
 out an attempt to revenge themselves on the perpe- 
 trators ; they were however restrained from effect- 
 ing their intention, and only compelled them to lay 
 down their arms, when they were sent off prisoners 
 to France, there to receive that punishment which 
 such an enormity most justly deserved. 
 
 About this period the accounts of the fatal end of 
 Oge had arrived in Paris, an event that caused an 
 amazing sensation amongst the advocates of the 
 people of colour and the society of Amis des Noirs ; 
 it brought forward the Abbe Gregoire, the staunch 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 59 
 
 friend of the former, who, with extraordinary elo- 
 quence and great warmth, claimed the benefit which 
 the instructions of March 1790 gave to them. Af- 
 ter a violent address from Robespierre, who said, 
 " Perish the colonies rather than sacrifice one iota 
 of our principles", the national assembly confirmed 
 the decree of the 15th of May, 1791, which enacted, 
 " that the people of colour resident in the French 
 colonies should be allowed the privileges of French 
 citizens, and, among others, those of having votes 
 in the choice of representatives, and of being eligi- 
 ble to seats both in the parochial and colonial as- 
 semblies."" 
 
 This decree, on being received in the colony, ex- 
 cited no little sensation ; the greatest indignation 
 was manifested by the white people in every quarter, 
 but still they refrained from acts of hostility to the 
 measures of the mother-country, under the hope 
 that when the new colonial assembly, which was to 
 meet at Leogane on the 9th of August, entered 
 upon its legislative functions, it would without 
 doubt aiford them that redress which they so anx- 
 iously desired. 
 
 The mulattoes, no doubt, expected that a most 
 serious opposition would be given to this decree, as 
 the governor, M. Blanchelande, had assured the 
 provincial assembly of the north, " that he would 
 suspend the execution of this obnoxious decree when- 
 ever it should come to him properly authenticated''; 
 
60 I'RESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. II. 
 
 they accordingly assembled in large bodies through- 
 out the whole colony, and displayed a determination 
 to enforce by arms the concession of those privileges 
 to which, under the decree of the national assembly, 
 they asserted they were entitled. 
 
 Here, it will be perceived, the first serious sym- 
 ptoms of tumult and insubordination appeared, not 
 from any revolt of the slave population, but from 
 the unhappy interference of the national assembly 
 of France, influenced by the supporters and advo- 
 cates of the people of colour, and the society of 
 Amis des Noirs. Had this interference been declined 
 by the mother-country, and had the colonial assem- 
 bly been invested with the sole legislative power of 
 framing regulations for the internal government of 
 the island, all those lamentable scenes which subse- 
 quently followed would have been averted, and the 
 colony would have preserved its peace and repose, 
 and have proceeded on, in its highly rich and culti- 
 vated condition, to the great advantage of the pro- 
 prietors, to the enhancement of the revenues of the 
 parent state, and without, in any way, oppressing the 
 slave cultivators or increasing the burthens under 
 which they were said to labour. 
 
 At the period of this narrative to which we have 
 now arrived, the effects of the Revolution in France 
 had made a very sensible impression on the whites, 
 as well as on the people of colour ; and it has been 
 a matter of no little astonishment, that during the 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 61 
 
 disputes which so unhappily existed, and whilst the 
 adherents of one party were committing acts of hos- 
 tility against the other, the slave population should 
 have remained passive observers of the contest be- 
 tween their respective masters, and in no instance, 
 I believe, did they fly to their succour and support. 
 The proprietors and planters of all denominations 
 had arrived at a very high state of affluence, their 
 plantations were extensive, in a high state of culti- 
 vation ; thus possessing a soil rich and productive 
 in a climate particularly favourable for cultivation, 
 their wealth scarcely knew any limits. But unfor- 
 tunately their manners and habits became relaxed 
 and depraved in proportion as they advanced in af- 
 fluence and prosperity. Proud, austere, and volup- 
 tuous, they often committed acts which humanity 
 must condemn ; and in the season of agitation and 
 disappointment, when the contending factions at 
 home and abroad were endeavouring to undermine 
 them, they perhaps were led to the infliction of ex- 
 cessive punishments, and to practise an unusual de- 
 gree of severity in exacting labour from their slaves. 
 Sensual pleasures had also, at this time, become so 
 prevalent as to excite very general disgust. 
 
 The mass of society had become so depraved, that 
 vice in every shape was gloried in, whilst virtue was 
 scarcely known ; it cannot therefore be a matter of 
 much surprise, that the rude, untaught, and unlet- 
 tered slave, just emerging from his savage customs. 
 
62 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [CHAP. II. 
 
 should be led by example to imbibe the vicious ha- 
 bits, and indulge the loose and ungovernable pro- 
 pensities which characterized his master. Upon the 
 Creole slave example made an instant impression, 
 whilst the newly imported African, slow to observe, 
 was only led into excesses by the craft and persuasion 
 of his Creole fellow bondsman. Example, therefore, 
 most unquestionably suggested the extraordinary 
 cruelties which in the spirit of revenge were in- 
 flicted by these infuriated people, instigated by the 
 mulattoes in the first instance for the more cer- 
 tain enforcing of their claims to the privileges which 
 the decree of the 15th of May, 1791, conferred upon 
 them. In all these disputes the females of the co- 
 lony also bore a conspicuous part ; entering into all 
 the views and feelings of their male companions, 
 they displayed an unparalleled degree of enthusiasm 
 for the cause in which their husbands, fathers and 
 brothers had respectively engaged : forgetting their 
 sex, and lost to the softer feelings of female nature, 
 they furiously flew to the standards of their party, and 
 by gesture and menace shewed that they were ready 
 to meet the fate which seemed likely to fall on their 
 friends. 
 
 I cannot better illustrate the characters of the 
 planters and the slave population at this period, 
 than by the description given of them by Rainsford 
 in his History of St. Domingo, who must have been 
 conversant with them from having been a sojourner 
 
CHAP. II.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 63 
 
 in the colony under circumstances of great danger, 
 and whose experience, arising from general inter- 
 course, must enable him to be a very competent 
 judge. He says of them : " Flushed with opulence 
 and dissipation, the majority of the planters in St. 
 Domingo had arrived at a state of sentiment the 
 most vitiated, and manners equally depraved ; while 
 injured by an example so contagious, the slaves had 
 become more dissolute than those of any British 
 island. If the master was proud, voluptuous, and 
 crafty, the slave was equally vicious, and often riot- 
 ous ; the punishment of one was but the consequent 
 of his own excesses, but that of the other was often 
 cruel and unnatural. The proprietor would bear 
 no rival in his parish, and would not bend even to 
 the ordinances of justice. The Creole slaves looked 
 upon the newly imported Africans with scorn, and 
 sustained in turn that of the mulattoes, whose com- 
 plexion was browner, while all were kept at a dis- 
 tance from an intercourse with the whites ; nor did 
 the boundaries of sex, it is painful to observe, keep 
 their wonted distinction from the stern impulses 
 which affect men. The European ladies too often 
 participated in the austerity and arrogance of their 
 male kindred, while the jet black beauty among 
 slaves, though scarcely a native of the island, re- 
 fused all commerce with those who could not boast 
 the same distinction with herself 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 First revolt of the slaves in 1791. — Their ravages.— 
 Decree of the national assembly 4th of April 1792. — 
 Santhonax and Polverel. — Their secret agency. — En- 
 courage the slaves. — Their declaration of freedom to 
 the slaves. — Consequences arising from it. — Character 
 of the slaves. — Disabilities of the coloured people. 
 
 In the preceding chapter I have sought to discover 
 if the first cause of the revolt of the slaves in Hayti 
 proceeded from any hatred towards their proprietors, 
 or if it were excited by the intrigues of the contend- 
 ing parties, who were each attempting to gain over 
 that class in favour of their cause ; and I find that 
 the result of my investigation of the subject is in 
 favour of the latter supposition. From facts that 
 appear to me undeniable I have come to the conclu- 
 sion, that unless the national assembly of France 
 had made an attempt to destroy that principle of 
 governing the colony which had previously been 
 adopted, and which before the Revolution had been 
 sanctioned by every person connected with it, the 
 slave population would have remained until this day 
 peaceable and tranquil observers of passing events, 
 unmindful of their being in bondage, because under 
 that bondage they had no wants, and in that state, 
 
CHAP, III.] PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. 65 
 
 whatever may be the opinion of mankind, they had 
 no care beyond that of their daily labour, to which 
 they felt it was no hardship to submit ; for there 
 does not appear an instance in which it exceeded the 
 ordinary work of any labourer within the tropics. 
 
 The revolt of the slaves, therefore, I take leave 
 to say, did not proceed from any severity or great 
 oppression on the part of their proprietors, but from 
 the proceedings of the parties who at different pe- 
 riods were striving for a preponderating power in 
 the colony : — of the whites who aimed at the pre- 
 servation of their privileges, and resisted all inno- 
 vation; and of the people of colour, who made 
 every possible effort to be admitted into the same 
 sphere, and to the enjoyment of those rights which 
 Gregoire and his revolutionary colleagues were 
 willing to concede to them. To these causes, and 
 to these alone, as it will appear to every unbiassed 
 reader, are to be attributed all those lamentable 
 scenes which subsequently ensued, and to which the 
 human mind cannot turn its attention without ex- 
 periencing those painful sensations which are excited 
 by the ravages of civil warfare and rebellion. 
 
 The first act of open rebellion among the slaves 
 appears to have occurred in the vicinity of the Cape 
 on or about the 23d of August 1791? on the plant- 
 ation Noe, situated in the parish of Acub. The 
 principal ringleaders murdered the white inhabit- 
 ants, whilst the other slaves finished the work of de- 
 
66 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. III. 
 
 vastation, by demolishing the works and setting fire 
 to the dwellings, huts, and other places contiguous 
 to them. 
 
 They were joined by the negroes from other 
 estates in the neighbourhood, upon all of which 
 similar tragedies were performed, and desolation 
 seemed likely to spread through the whole plains of 
 the north. The barbarity which marked their 
 progress exceeded description ; an indiscriminate 
 slaughter of the whites ensued, except in instances 
 where some of the females were reserved for a more 
 wretched doom, being made to submit to the brutal 
 lusts of the most sanguinary wretches that ever dis- 
 graced humanity. Cases are upon record, where the 
 most amiable of the female sex were first brought 
 forth to see their parents inhumanly butchered, and 
 were afterwards compelled to submit to the em- 
 braces of the very villain who acted as their exe- 
 cutioner. The distinction of age had no effect on 
 these ruthless savages, for even girls of twelve and 
 fourteen years were made the objects of satiating 
 their lust and revenge. Nothing could exceed 
 the consternation of the white people ; and the la- 
 mentations of the unhappy women struck every one 
 with horror. Such a scene of massacre has scarcely 
 been heard of, as that which accompanied the com- 
 mencement of the rebellion in the north. 
 
 Some opposition was made to their progress by a 
 few militia and troops of the line, which M, De 
 
CHAP. III.] Oil SAINT DOMINGO. &] 
 
 Tonzard collected for the purpose; not indeed, with 
 the expectation of effectually dispersing them, but 
 of enabling the inhabitants of the city of Cape 
 Fran9ois to put themselves in such a state of de- 
 fence as might save them from that destruction 
 which seemed to await them. The citizens flew to 
 arms, and the national guards, with the seamen from 
 the ships, were mustered, and ready to receive the 
 rebels should they make an attempt upon the city. 
 There was in the city at the time, a large body 
 of free mulattoes, on whom the lower order of whites 
 looked with a suspicious eye, as being in some way 
 the authors or fomenters of the revolt; these were 
 also enrolled in the militia, the governor and the 
 colonial assembly confiding in them, and relying on 
 their fidelity. The report of the revolt was soon 
 known throughout the whole colony, but more par- 
 ticularly in the northern districts, the white inhabit- 
 ants of which, being speedily collected together, es- 
 tablished two strong posts at Grand Riviere and at 
 Dondon, for the purpose of checking the advance of 
 the revolters, until such time as a force could be 
 concentrated, sufficiently powerflil to disperse them : 
 but in this they were disappointed, for the negroes 
 had increased their own numbers by the revolt of 
 the slaves on many other estates, and they had also 
 been joined by a large body of mulattoes. AVith 
 this united force, they successfully attacked the two 
 positions which were occupied by the whites, wlio 
 
 f2 
 
G8 PRESENT STATE OF IlAYTl, [cHAP. lit. 
 
 were completely routed. Success put the rebels in 
 possession of the extensive plain with all its sur- 
 rounding mountains, abounding with every produc- 
 tion of which they stood in need for their suste- 
 nance. 
 
 The defeat of the whites was followed by a scene of 
 cruelties and butcheries which exceeds imagination; 
 almost every individual who fell into the hands of the 
 revolters met with a wretched end, tortures of the 
 most shocking description being resorted to by these 
 blood-thirsty savages : blacks and mulattoes seemed 
 eager to rival each other in the extent of their enor- 
 mities. 
 
 The union of the mulattoes with the revolted 
 slaves, was not an event unlooked for ; as I have be- 
 fore remarked, they were strongly suspected of being 
 the instigators of the rebellion. This junction caused 
 serious apprehensions, that those mulattoes who had 
 joined the whites in the city, and had marched for 
 the purpose of cooperating with the inhabitants of 
 the plains, would desert their posts and go over to 
 the revolters; and it is probable that such an event 
 might have ensued, had not the governor, before he 
 permitted them to be enrolled, and before he could 
 implicitly confide in them, demanded from them 
 their wives and children, as hostages for their ad- 
 herence to the cause which they had engaged to 
 support. 
 
 In this northern insurrection, the destruction of 
 
CHAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 69 
 
 the white inhabitants, it is said, was considerable, 
 exceeding, of all ages, two thousand; besides the 
 demolition of the buildings of a great many plant- 
 ations, and the total ruin of many families, who 
 from a condition of ease and affluence were reduced 
 to the lowest state of misery and despair, being 
 driven to the melancholy necessity of supplicating 
 charity, to relieve the heart-rending calls of their 
 hungry and naked offspring. The loss of the in- 
 surgents was however infinitely greater; being ig- 
 norant of the effects of cannon they were consequent- 
 ly cut down in masses, while the sword was also ef- 
 fectually used. It appears that upwards of 10,000 
 of these sanguinary wretches fell in the field, besides 
 a very large number who perished by famine, and 
 by the hands of the executioner; a very just retri- 
 bution for their savage and inhuman proceedings. 
 There is every reason to believe that the loss sus- 
 tained by them in all their engagements must have 
 been immense, as they seemed to have imbibed a 
 most extraordinary idea of the effect of artillery: 
 it is said of them by a writer of repute, that " The 
 blacks suffered greatly in the beginning of the re- 
 volution by their ignorance of the dreadful effects 
 of the guns, and by a superstitious belief, very ge- 
 nerally prevailing at that time, that by a few mys- 
 terious words, they could prevent the cannon doing 
 them any harm, which belief induced them to face 
 the most imminent dangers." 
 
70 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. III. 
 
 AVliilst these ravages were going on in the north, 
 the western district was menaced by a body of men 
 of colour, who had collected at Mirebalais, san- 
 giiinely expecting to be joined by a large party of 
 slaves from the surrounding parishes. Their aim 
 was the possession of Port au Prince and the whole 
 plain of Cul de Sac; but being joined by only about 
 six or seven hundred of the slaves of the neighbour- 
 hood, they did not succeed in their object; and 
 after having set fire to the coiFee plantations in the 
 mountains, and done some injury amongst the es- 
 tates in the valley, they began to deliberate on their 
 condition, and to devise some plan, by which they 
 might be able to rescue themselves from the dilemma 
 into which they were thrown by their own rash and 
 improvident proceedings. Some of the most power- 
 ful of the mulattoes, who found it impossible to gain 
 the negroes over to their cause, deemed it advisable 
 to propose an adjustment of their disputes, and at- 
 tempt to bring about a reconciliation with the whites. 
 One of the planters, a man of some power and 
 address, and having been always very highly esteem- 
 ed by the people of colour, as well as the negroes 
 through the whole of the Cul de Sac, interposed, 
 and a treaty was concluded on the 11th of Septem- 
 ber, between the people of colour on the one part, 
 and the white inhabitants of Port au Prince on the 
 other. 
 
 This treaty was called the Concordat : it had for 
 
CHAP. III.] Oil SAINT DOMINGO. 7^ 
 
 its basis the oblivion of past differences and the full 
 recognition of the decree of the national assembly of 
 the 15th of May. The treaty was subsequently 
 ratified by the general assembly of the colony, and 
 a proclamation was issued, in which it was held out 
 that further concessions were contemplated for the 
 purpose of cementing a good understanding between 
 both classes, and these concessions, it was supposed, 
 alluded to the admission of those persons of colour 
 to the privileges of the whole who were born of en- 
 slaved parents. Mulattoes also were voted to be 
 eligible to hold commissions in the companies form- 
 ed of persons of their own colour, and some other 
 privileges of minor consideration conceded to them. 
 This, it was hoped, would restore order, and enable 
 the people once more to enjoy peace and repose. 
 But a circumstance occurred which blasted these 
 hopes, and the flame, which appears only to have 
 been partially subdued, was rekindled, and burst 
 forth again with an astonishing rapidity, devouring 
 all within its overwhelming reach. 
 
 Immediately after the ratification of the Concordat 
 by the colonial assembly had been announced, and 
 when it was admitted by all parties that its several pro- 
 visions, amongst them the decree of the 15th of May, 
 were judicious and highly commendable, tending to 
 preserve order and tranquillity through the island, in- 
 telligence was received of the repeal of that very de- 
 
72 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cllAP. Ill, 
 
 crec by the national assembly in France, and of its 
 having been voted by a very large majority. This 
 was followed too by an intimation that the na- 
 tional assembly had determined on sending out 
 commissioners to enforce the decree of the 24th of 
 September 1791) which annulled the decree of the 
 15th of May, and to endeavour to restore order and 
 subordination. Such unaccountable, and, as they 
 may be justly characterized, deceptive proceedings 
 on the part of the national assembly excited the in- 
 dignation of the people of colour, who immediately 
 accused the whites of being privy to these transac- 
 tions, and declared that all further amity and good 
 understanding must be broken off, and that either 
 one party or the other must be annihilated. All 
 the coloured people in the western and southern 
 parts flew eagerly to the standard of revolt, and 
 having collected a strong force, they appeared in a 
 few days before Port au Prince, on which they made 
 an attempt, but as that city had been strengthened 
 by an additional force from France, it was enabled 
 to receive the attack of the insurgents, and ulti- 
 mately to repel them with no inconsiderable loss. 
 The city however sustained considerable injury, and 
 the revolters were successful in several attempts to 
 set fire to it, by which a very large part of it was 
 burnt down, or otherwise injured. 
 
 In the plains of the Cul de Sac the negroes joined 
 
CHAr. III.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 7^ 
 
 the mulattoes, allured by the charm of plunder and 
 the pledge of freedom, and the expectation of satiat- 
 ing their lust on the defenceless and unoffending 
 white females who should fall into their hands. 
 In these plains some sanguinary battles were fought, 
 remarkable however for nothing except the unre- 
 lenting cruelties with which the prisoners of the re- 
 spective combatants were visited, and the barbarous 
 and inhuman executions which followed them. 
 
 In these engagements it is recorded that the 
 whites had the advantage, but they were unable to 
 follow up their success, being destitute of a force of 
 cavalry for the pursuit, a circumstance which made 
 it quite impossible for them to improve on any deci- 
 sive movement which they had effected. It appears, 
 that in every skirmish or engagement the whites 
 were in all cases most forward and bold in their at- 
 tacks, and few only were the instances in which the 
 contest was commenced by the mulattoes ; whenever 
 they were brought in contact with their opponents 
 they exhibited no individual or collective displays 
 of courage and heroism, but, on the contrary, there 
 seemed a tincture of cowardice in all their proceed- 
 ings, for they arranged the negroes in front of their 
 position, and in all cases of advance these deluded 
 creatures bore the first attack of their adversaries, 
 whilst their coloured allies, leaders, and deluders, 
 often remained inactive during the moment of trial 
 and slaughter. 
 
74 niESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [ciIAP. III. 
 
 In December the commissioners Mirbeck, Roosne, 
 and St. Leger arrived. Their reception was respect- 
 ful, and there was a peculiar degree of submission 
 shewn to them ; but when they proclaimed a gene- 
 ral amnesty and pardon to all who should submit 
 and desist from further acts of insubordination, and 
 subscribe the articles of the new constitution, a 
 general murmur was excited, and marks of disap- 
 probation were shewn towards them, not only by the 
 colonial assembly, but by every individual of the 
 contending parties. They remained in the island 
 but a short time ; and as an opinion prevailed that 
 they were the mere instruments or organ of the 
 national assembly, they obtained no attention or re- 
 spect. Without any display of talent, they aspired 
 to the government of a people, who were not to be 
 commanded without being first taught that their 
 commission was of a pacific tendency, and that their 
 instructions were to appease, and not to excite. In- 
 stead of this, they declined to give any explanation 
 of the object of their appointment beyond that 
 which had been previously known, the enforcing of 
 the decree of the 24th of September 1791. Find- 
 ing all their eftbrts unavailing, and that they were 
 unsupported by either party, finding that their au- 
 thority was disputed and their representations de- 
 spised, and, above all, left without any troops by 
 which they might attempt to enforce obedience to 
 their power, and submission to the decrees of the 
 
CHAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 7^ 
 
 mother-country, they took then' departure from the 
 island by separate conveyances, after having made 
 many most ineffectual attempts to obtain the confi- 
 dence and the good opinion of the people over whom 
 they were sent to preside, and from whom they were 
 sent to exact an accordance with such measures as the 
 national assembly might think it expedient to adopt. 
 About this time, also, there were some changes 
 in France which indicated further arrangements 
 with respect to the administration of the colonies, 
 which could only tend to widen the breach, and in- 
 flame the parties to that degree of violence which 
 would preclude the expectation of iiny amicable ad- 
 justment at a future period. The society of Amis 
 des Noirs had now gained a considerable influence 
 in the national assembly, and there seemed to exist 
 an union of feeling in favour of the mulattoes, and 
 also of the slave population, whom it was designed 
 at no distant period to emancipate, however unpre- 
 pared they might be, by moral improvement, to re- 
 ceive such a boon. It was suggested that instruc- 
 tions should be sent out to the colonial assemblies, 
 conveying to them such intentions, as well as their 
 opinion of the means by which " slavery might be 
 abolished in toto"', without in the least affecting the 
 interest of the people, or in any way putting their 
 property in jeopardy. This design, however, of 
 the anti-slavery party in France met with some mo- 
 mentary opposition, although the advocates of the 
 
76 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IIT. 
 
 measure uttered loud invectives against the planters 
 in general ; but whatever influence the former might 
 have collected and brought against the latter, it is 
 very clear it failed in its desired aim, for in less 
 than two months this assembly passed another de- 
 cree, which abrogated that of the 24th of Septem- 
 ber. This decree is of the 4th of April 1792, and 
 it is the first step towards an emancipation of sla- 
 very, although it does not declare such an intention. 
 It is important, and I shall therefore insert it from 
 a translation in another work, to the writer of which 
 I am much indebted. 
 
 " The national assembly acknowledges and de- 
 clares, that the people of colour and free negroes in 
 the colonies ought to enjoy an equality of political 
 rights with the whites ; in consequence of which it 
 decrees as follows : — 
 
 " Article 1st. Immediately after the publication 
 of the present decree, the inhabitants of each of 
 the French colonies in the windward and leeward 
 islands shall proceed to the re-election of colonial 
 and parochial assemblies, after the mode prescribed 
 by the decree of the 8th of March 1790, and the in- 
 structions of the national assembly of the 28th of 
 the same month. 
 
 " 2d. The people of colour and free negroes 
 shall be admitted to vote in all the primary and 
 electoral assemblies, and shall be eligible to the le- 
 gislature and all places of trust, provided they 
 
CtlAP. III.] OR SAIMT DOMINGO. 77 
 
 possess the qualifications prescribed by the fourth 
 article of the aforesaid instructions. 
 
 " 3d. Three civil commissioners shall be named 
 for the colony of St. Domingo, and four for the 
 islands of Martinique, Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, and 
 Tobago, to see this decree enforced. 
 
 " 4th. The said commissioners shall be autho- 
 rized to dissolve the present colonial assemblies ; to 
 take every measure necessary for accelerating the 
 convocation of the primary and electoral assemblies, 
 and therein to establish union, order, and peace, as 
 well as to determine provisionally (reserving the 
 power of appeal to the national assembly) upon 
 every question which may arise concerning the re- 
 gularity of convocations, the holding of assemblies, 
 the form of elections, and the eligibility of citizens. 
 
 " 5th. They are authorized to procure every in- 
 formation possible, in order to discover the authors 
 of the troubles in St. Domingo, and the continu- 
 ance thereof, if they still continue ; to secure the 
 persons of the guilty, and to send them over to 
 France, there to be put in a state of accusationv&c. 
 
 " 6th. The said civil commissioners shall be di- 
 rected, for this purpose, to transmit to the national 
 assembly minutes of their proceedings, and of the 
 evidence they may have collected concerning the 
 persons accused as aforesaid. 
 
 " 7^^- The national assembly authorizes the civil 
 commissioners to call forth the public force when- 
 
7B PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. III. 
 
 ever they may tliink it necessary, either for their 
 own protection, or for the execution of such orders 
 as they may issue by virtue of the preceding ar- 
 ticles. 
 
 " 8th. The executive power is directed to send a 
 sufficient force to the colonies, to be composed 
 chiefly of national guards. 
 
 " 9th. The colonial assemblies immediately after 
 their formation shall signify, in the name of each 
 colony respectively, their sentiments respecting that 
 constitution, those laws, and the administration of 
 them, which will best promote the prosperity and 
 happiness of the people, conforming themselves ne- 
 vertheless to those general principles by which the 
 colonies and the mother-country are connected to- 
 gether, and by which their respective interests are 
 best secured, agreeably to the decree of the 8th of 
 March 1790 and instructions of the 28th of the 
 same month. 
 
 " 10th. The colonial assemblies are authorized 
 to send home delegates for the purposes mentioned 
 in the preceding article, in numbers proportionate 
 to the population of each colony, which proportion 
 shall be forthwith determined by the national as- 
 sembly, according to the report which its colonial 
 committee is directed to make. 
 
 " 11th. Former decrees respecting the colonies 
 shall be in force in every thing not contrary to the 
 present decree." 
 
CHAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMINGO, 7^ 
 
 The carrying of tins decree into effect Wtas en- 
 trusted to Messrs. Santhonax, Polverel, and Ail- 
 haud, the executive in France sending out a body 
 comprising eight thousand men of the national 
 guards, for the purpose of compelling the colonists 
 to submit to their authority. Having arrived on 
 the 13th of September, their first act was to dissolve 
 the colonial assembly, and their next, to send the 
 governor, Blanchelande, to France, where, after an 
 examination into his administration, he was sen- 
 tenced to death, and suffered on the guillotine in 
 the April following. M. Desparbes, who was in- 
 vested with chief command in his stead, having 
 disagreed with the commissioners, was also suspend- 
 ed, and, like his predecessor, he was sent to France 
 to undergo a similar fate. 
 
 The greatest consternation everywhere prevailed 
 on the announcement of this decree, and, as I have 
 before observed, a pretty general feeling existed, 
 that this was only a prelude to a general emancipa- 
 tion of the slave population, and which afterwards 
 was actually realised. The white inhabitants, in 
 particular, suspected the candour of the commis- 
 sioners, who were anxious to have it believed that 
 the object of their mission was nothing more than 
 to carry into operation the provisions of this decree, 
 and to settle all those disputes between the one class 
 and the other, which had been fomented to the great 
 destruction of persons and property. These agents 
 
80 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. III. 
 
 of the national assembly seem to have been well 
 skilled in the art of dissimulation, more particularly 
 the leader, M. Santhonax, who, whilst professing to 
 the whites the warmest solicitude and anxiety for 
 the preservation of peace and the promotion of the 
 prosperity of the colony, was secretly intriguing 
 with the mulattoes, and holding clandestine meet- 
 ings with their chiefs ; and in the end, in conjunc- 
 tion with his coadjutors, he openly declared that 
 they, with the free negroes, should enjoy their pri- 
 vileges, receive the protection of the national guards, 
 and that he would espouse their cause in every pos- 
 sible way in which it could be effectually promoted. 
 The properties of the white inhabitants, as well 
 as their lives, seemed at this juncture in the great- 
 est jeopardy, and they possessed no means of avert- 
 ing the fate which seemed to await them. Some 
 little hope, however, was raised in their minds by 
 the appointment of a new governor, M. Galbaud, 
 who arrived to take the command in May 1793, 
 and to place the island in the strongest state of de- 
 fence, it being apprehended by the French govern- 
 ment that the British might interpose in the exist- 
 ing disputes, as war had been declared between the 
 two powers. His arrival was hailed by the authori- 
 ties and the inhabitants of the Cape with the 
 strongest manifestations of joy, and from his having 
 property in the island, they had the highest confi- 
 dence in his character for probity, and anticipated 
 
CHAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 81 
 
 that the most decisive measures would be adopted 
 for the restoration of their property, and for the 
 security of their lives. But how vain were their 
 anticipations, and how fleeting their hope ! The 
 national assembly of France, the great mover of all 
 the evils which afflicted this unhappy country, again 
 interposed with new instructions, and suspended the 
 new governor from his command, decreeing that any 
 one holding property in the colonies should be in- 
 eligible to fill any office of trust in the colony in 
 which his estate was situate. 
 
 Galbaud did not, however, resign his appoint- 
 ment without a struggle ; and aided by his brother, 
 a man of some spirit and great enterprise, he col- 
 lected a force composed of militia, seamen from the 
 ships in the harbour of the Cape, and a strong body 
 of volunteers, and without delay advanced against 
 the commissioners, whom he found ready to receive 
 him at the head of the regular troops. A conflict 
 severe and bloody ensued, and considerable resolu- 
 tion was displayed by the rival parties, each sup- 
 porting their cause with unshaken firmness and de- 
 termined bravery ; but the sailors, who composed 
 the greatest body of Galbaud's force, having become 
 disorderly, he was obliged to retire, which he did 
 without being in the least interrupted or opposed 
 by the force of the commissioners. 
 
 The next day various skirmishes took place, in 
 which the success was in some degree mutual ; and 
 
 G 
 
82 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [CHAP. lU, 
 
 whilst the brother of Galbaucl fell into the hands of 
 the commissioners"' troops, the son of Polverel was 
 captured by the seamen attached to Galbaud's force. 
 The commissioners finding, however, that their force 
 diminished, and that their opponents were resolute 
 and fought with unexampled bravery, had recourse 
 to a measure which in the sequel caused much 
 slaughter, although it succeeded in the destruction 
 of Galbaud's force ; they called in the aid of the 
 revolted slaves, offering them their fi-eedom, and 
 promising that the city of the Cape should be given 
 up for plunder. Some of the rebel chiefs rejected a 
 proposition which could only produce the sacrifice 
 of lives and the spilling of human blood, without 
 in any way promoting their own cause, but Macaya, 
 a negro possessing some power over his adherents, 
 and being of a savage and brutal disposition, with 
 an insatiable thirst for the blood of the whites, ac- 
 cepted the proposal of the commissioners, and with 
 three or four thousand of his negro brethren joined 
 their standard, when a scene of horror and of car- 
 nage ensued, the recital of which would shock the 
 hardest and most unfeeling heart. Men, women, 
 and children were without distinction unmercifully 
 slaughtered by these barbarians, and those who had 
 escaped the first rush into the city, and had reached 
 the water-side, for the purpose of getting on board 
 the ships in the harbour, were intercepted and their 
 retreat cut off by these merciless wretches, just at 
 
THAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMIKGO. 8 
 
 o 
 
 the moment when arrangements had been accom- 
 plished for their embarkation. Here the mulattoes 
 had an opportunity of gratifying their revenge ; 
 here they had arrived at the summit of their great- 
 est ambition and glory ; here it was that these 
 cowardly and infamous parricides, gorged with hu- 
 man blood, sacrificed their own parents, and after- 
 wards subjected their bodies to every species of in- 
 sult and indignity ; here it was that these disciples 
 of Robespierre — this injured and oppressed race — 
 the theme of Gregoire's praise, and the subject of 
 his appeal and harangue, shewed themselves worthy 
 disciples of such masters ! If any thing were 
 wanted to establish the fact of these scenes being 
 unexampled, and without a parallel, one thing, I am 
 sure, will alone be sufficient, and that is, that the 
 commissioners, these amiable representatives of the 
 national assembly, the immaculate Santhonax, and 
 the equally humane and mrtuous Polverel, these 
 vicegerents of the society of Amis des Noirs, these 
 protectors of the mulattoes, were struck with horror 
 at the scene which was presented to them, and re- 
 paired to the ships, there to become spectators of 
 the effects of their own crimes, and of a splendid 
 and opulent city devoured by the flames which had 
 been lighted by the torch of anarchy and re- 
 bellion. 
 
 In this destruction of the Cape, some instances 
 of the most extraordinary brutality were exhibited, 
 
 G 2 
 
84s PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. III. 
 
 and others of clevotedness and heroism were dis- 
 played ; one or two it will be as well to mention, as 
 illustrative of the generosity and humanity of the 
 one party, and of the ferocity and cruelty of the 
 other. When the revolters first entered the city, 
 every man, woman, and child were bayoneted or cut 
 down with such instruments as they could muster, 
 but the young females were in most cases spared, 
 for the momentary gratification of the lust of those 
 into whose hands they fell. One case of the most 
 singular enormity took place : — a leader of the re- 
 volted slaves, named Gautier, had entered the 
 house of a respectable merchant in the square, in 
 which were the proprietor, his wife, his two sons, 
 and three daughters ; the sons were young, not ex- 
 ceeding the age of ten, but the daughters were ele- 
 gant young women, the eldest about eighteen, and the 
 youngest not exceeding fourteen. Gautier, assisted 
 by one or two wretches equally inhuman, pro- 
 mised to spare the family, on account of his hav- 
 ing received many acts of kindness and generosity 
 from the father, to whom he was often sent by 
 his master on business, he being a domestic slave. 
 These poor creatures, who were at first half-expir- 
 ing from the terror of the scene around them, 
 and from the idea of being the captives of barba- 
 rians, recovered somewhat from the alarm into 
 which they had been thrown, through the promises 
 of security thus unconditionally pledged to them ; 
 
CHAP. III.] OE SAINT DOMINGO. 85 
 
 and altlicugli not permitted to go out of tlie sight of 
 their captors, they did not apprehend that any mis- 
 chief was in embryo, and that their lives were to be 
 sacrificed. Impressed with the idea of safety, they 
 proceeded to, prepare a repast for their supposed 
 guardians, and set it before them in the same splen- 
 dour as they were wont to do when receiving their 
 best and dearest friends. Gautier drank freely, and 
 his compeers did no little justice to the rich repast. 
 Night coming on, and apprehensive of the conse- 
 quences of a surprise from the governor's force, 
 they began to dehberate upon what plan they should 
 adopt to secure their unhappy captives from flight, 
 when, not being able to devise any thing likely to 
 be effectual, they came to the savage resolution of 
 murdering them all. The daughters were locked 
 up in a room, under the watch of two of the re- 
 volters, whilst the remainder of them commenced 
 the bloody task by bayoneting the two sons. The 
 mother, on her knees, imploring mercy with pitifid 
 cries, met with the same fate, whilst the hus- 
 band, who was bound hand and foot, was barba- 
 rously mangled, by having first his arms and then 
 his legs cut off, and afterwards run through the 
 body. During this blood-thirsty scene, the daugh- 
 ters, ignorant of the tragic end of their parents, 
 were in a state of alarm and terror not to be de- 
 scribed, yet hoping that their lives were safe. But^ 
 
SG niESENT STATE OP IIAYTI, [cHAP. 111. 
 
 alas ! how deceitful that hope ! for their destiny- 
 was fixed, and their time but short. Gautier and 
 his diabolical associates went into their room, 
 stripped them naked, and committed on their de- 
 fenceless persons the most brutal enormities, when 
 with the dead bodies of their parents they were 
 thrown into the flames which were then surrounding 
 them, where they all perished. 
 
 I shall mention another case of an opposite cha- 
 racter, and in which a degree of heroism was exhi- 
 bited that deserves to be recorded with every praise. 
 A M. Tardiffe, a planter, and a young man of con- 
 siderable property and of great courage and pre- 
 sence of mind, had joined the force of the governor, 
 and had consequently become an object of great 
 hatred, particularly on the part of some of the 
 mulattoes who resided in the vicinity of his estate. 
 Awakened one night about twelve o'clock by the 
 cries of females, he jumped up, and rushed to the 
 room in which his sisters, two amiable young ladies, 
 were reposing, where he found armed men attempt- 
 ing to get through the window. He instantly flew 
 for his sabre and pistols, which were loaded, his 
 sisters following him, and then returned to the room 
 to oppose the assassins. He found one had accom- 
 plished his purpose of getting into the room, whom 
 he in an instant ran through the body ; when, turn- 
 ing to the window, he shot another fellow just en- 
 
CHAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 87 
 
 tering, and afterwards one or two others who made 
 similar attempts. About this time his domestics had 
 all come up stairs, and they shewed themselves most 
 faithful in adhering to their master ; for, not content- 
 ed with merely opposing the entry of the assassins 
 into the house, they sallied forth to meet them at 
 the front of it, and although their numbers were 
 inferior to that of their unprincipled and lawless 
 invaders, they successfully attacked them, killing 
 seven, and driving away the rest, with the excep- 
 tion of one, who was captured, who happened to be 
 the illegitimate brother of M. Tardiife, to whom 
 he had shewed the warmest affection and whom he 
 had cherished as the dearest relation. In return 
 for such ingratitude and villainy, how did M. Tar- 
 diffe act ? Did he give him up for public justice ? 
 No. Did he permit his faithfid and enraged do- 
 mestics, who were witnesses of his crimes, to exe- 
 cute momentary vengeance upon him ? No. But 
 he took him by the hand, mildly remonstrated with 
 him, and afterwards furnished him with the means 
 of leaving the colony for America, lest the search- 
 ing hand of justice might before long stay his ca- 
 reer. I have thought it adviseable to relate these 
 two cases, from the extraordinary enormity of the 
 first, and from the singular circumstances attending 
 the last, having received the detail of them from 
 an individual who was engaged in most of the 
 events which occurred at that period. 
 
88 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. III. 
 
 After this first revolt of the slaves in the north, 
 emigrations commenced in almost all parts of the 
 colony, some going to the United States, many to 
 the neighbouring islands ; and some of the most 
 opulent and powerful of the planters to England, 
 under the impression that the British government 
 would be disposed to turn its attention to their cause. 
 The war between France and England having com- 
 menced, some regard was paid to their solicitations, 
 and through the instance of M. Charmilly (the M. 
 Charmilly of Spanish notoriety) the government of 
 England sent out directions to the governor of Ja- 
 maica to afford to those inhabitants of St. Domingo 
 who were desirous to place themselves under Bri- 
 tish protection every possible support, and to send 
 without delay a competent force, and to take posses- 
 sion of such places as the people might be disposed 
 to surrender to them. 
 
 The intentions of the British government being 
 known by the means of secret agents, the commis- 
 sioners, Santhonax and Polverel, had recourse to 
 every possible means of strengthening the force in 
 the colony, and of being prepared for the reception 
 of the British troops whenever they should make 
 their contemplated descent. They collected the re- 
 gular troops, militia, and such of the whites as were 
 in their interest, together with the free negroes and 
 mulattoes who had hitherto followed their cause. 
 But this was not deemed by them a sufficient body 
 
CHAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 89 
 
 when united, to oppose British soldiers led on by 
 experienced commanders. They therefore at once 
 " proclaimed the abolition of every species of slavery, 
 declaring that the negroes were thenceforth to be 
 considered as free citizens"'; and thereby assigned 
 over to a lawless banditti the fee simple of every 
 property in the French part of the island of St. 
 Domingo, placing every white inhabitant within 
 almost the grasp of a set of people insensible to 
 every feeling of humanity, rude and ruthless as in 
 their native wilds. 
 
 A description of these untutored people cannot be 
 better given than in the language of Mr. Edwards, 
 who says, " The Charaibs of St. Vincent, and the 
 Maroons of Jamaica, were originally enslaved Afri- 
 cans ; and what they now are, the freed negroes of 
 St. Domingo will be hereafter, — savages in the 
 midst of society, without peace, security, agricul- 
 ture, or property ; ignorant of the duties of life, and 
 unacquainted with all the soft endearing relations 
 which rendered it desirable; averse to labour, though 
 frequently perishing for want ; suspicious of each 
 other, and towards the rest of mankind revengeful 
 and faithless, remorseless and bloody-minded ; pre- 
 tending to be free while groaning beneath the capri- 
 cious despotism of their chiefs, and feeling all the 
 miseries of servitude without the benefits of subordi- 
 nation."" The prediction of this elegant author has 
 certainly been realized in all its parts, and subsequent 
 
90 rCESKNT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. III. 
 
 events have fully confirmed the opinion which he had 
 formed of the negro character, when left to his own 
 uncontrolled will and unrestrained in his propensities. 
 Sloth, lust, and every species of wantonness and 
 cruelty marked the progress of the enfranchised 
 slaves in the first moment of their freedom ; and un- 
 til leaders of decisive and resolute powers for com- 
 mand undertook to preserve some degree of order 
 and submission, they wandered in parties through 
 the different parishes, inflicting the most vmheard-of 
 cruelties on the innocent and unoffending, without 
 regard to sex or colour. To the will and command 
 of their chief they were generally obedient, al- 
 though they were subjected to duties of the most 
 dangerous and laborious description ; but when the 
 least relaxation of discipline was permitted, they 
 again resorted to plunder and destruction, and to 
 every other species of insubordination, gratifying 
 their insatiable thirst for the blood of the whites, 
 as well as of that of the mulattoes, who were averse 
 to the measure of emancipation. In these predatory 
 excursions they committed the most shocking ex- 
 cesses, and more real and afflicting accounts have 
 been received of the enormities practised by them 
 when wandering in detached parties, than have been 
 known to follow the most sanguinary battle in which 
 they had been engaged. 
 
 I see nothing through the whole career of the re- 
 bellion to induce me to alter my opinion of the cause 
 
CHAr. III.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 91 
 
 whence all these lamentable effects sprung; and 
 I must again repeat, that it was not misconduct on 
 the part of the proprietors which excited the first 
 revolt, and induced the slaves to take up arms 
 against those from whom, in innumerable instances, / 
 they had experienced kindness and indulgence. IJk^ 
 was natural to expect that in a colony, the opera- 
 tions in which are entirely performed by slaves, 
 some cases of oppression would occur which would 
 justly deserve reprobation; but the rebellion be- 
 came general, although I am not aware that any 
 successful attempt has been made to shew that the 
 conduct of the planters towards their slaves was ge- 
 nerally harsh and oppressive. 
 
 De Vastey, in his remarks, would wish it to be 
 inferred that the brute creation received infinitely 
 more kindness and indulgence from their master 
 than was shewn towards the slave : but De Vastey 
 being a negro, it is natural that he should exhibit 
 the worst side of the picture, without noticing its 
 better one. He adduces no instances of that op- 
 pression which he wishes to prevail upon mankind 
 to believe to have been inflicted : we have nothing 
 from him but allegations and assertions, without 
 proof to support them. It is true, that he puts for- 
 ward some statements of cruelties inflicted on his ne- 
 gro brethren, but those were subsequent, even by his 
 own account, to the revolt and to the emancipation; 
 but he has forgotten that the first atrocities, the 
 
92 TRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. III. 
 
 first acts of cruelty and indiscriminate murder, were 
 committed by his very brethren (for whom he claims 
 the pity of mankind for their sufferings and for 
 their unmerited bondage) on the plantation Noe, 
 and others in the vicinity. De Vastey, it is plain, 
 is no authority on which the charge of cruelty on 
 the part of the planter before the rebellion can be 
 supported. 
 
 With regard to the mulattoes, or free men of co- 
 lour, who were doubtless the chief instigators of 
 the rebellion and of the first revolt of the slaves, 
 although they cannot escape the condemnation just- 
 ly due to them for their perfidy, yet the extreme 
 disabilities under which they laboured in some 
 measure might be adduced in mitigation of the cen- 
 sure which their faithless conduct so truly de- 
 served. If they had not commenced the work of 
 revolt, but had remained quiet observers of the 
 proceedings of the national and colonial assem- 
 blies, and delayed their operations until the result 
 of the deliberations and arrangements of those 
 bodies had been promulgated, they would have 
 called forth spontaneous expressions of approbation 
 from all classes of people : but the eagerness which 
 they manifested for civil feuds and for a prepon- 
 derancy of power in the colony, without any condi- 
 tions and without the least possible reservation, has 
 called down upon them, and I think justly too, very 
 severe reprobation. It has been observed, that this 
 
CHAP. III.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 93 
 
 class of people were, from their education and from 
 their general demeanour, as eligible members of so- 
 ciety as the whites, and as such ought to have been 
 admitted into all its rights and advantages. This, 
 I believe, no one undertakes to deny ; but it is no 
 more than fair and equitable towards the white po- 
 pulation to observe, that prior to every concession 
 being made to them, something like a line of demarc- 
 ation should have been drawn as to the limits to 
 which those concessions should be carried, otherwise 
 from their number and power the mulattoes might 
 have obtained an overwhelming preponderancy in the 
 colony, rendering the white colonists mere cyphers. 
 The decrees against the people of colour, as they 
 appear on the records of the colony, are extremely 
 harsh and impolitic, and a relaxation, if not a re- 
 peal of them, would have been only an act of jus- 
 tice. The government held them in no repute, but 
 considered them as it were national property, and 
 gave the. public a right in them. They were sub- 
 jected by the governors, when they had arrived at a 
 particular age, to a military servitude of the most de- 
 grading kind, and for a time to labour on the public 
 roads, the severity of which was almost too great to 
 be borne. They were not permitted to hold any of- 
 fice of power or trust in the state, nor could they 
 even follow the humble calling of a schoolmaster. 
 The least possible taint in the blood excluded them, 
 and the distinction of colour had no termination. Not 
 
 »i 
 
94 PRKSEXT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. Ill, 
 
 SO in the British colonies, where it is lost in the third 
 generation. It is said also, that " the courts of cri- 
 minal jurisdiction adopting the popular prejudices 
 against them gave effect and permanency to the 
 system. A man of colour, being a prosecutor, must 
 have made out a strong case indeed, if at any time 
 he obtained the conviction of a white person. On 
 the other hand, the whites never failed to procure 
 prompt and speedy justice against mulattoes. To 
 mark more strongly the distinction between the 
 two classes, the law declared that if a free man of 
 colour presumed to strike a white person, of what- 
 ever condition, his right hand should be cut off; 
 while a white man for a similar assault on a free 
 mulatto was dismissed on the payment of an insig- 
 nificant fine." * 
 
 It is, I conceive, impossible for any one to be in- 
 formed of the existence of such a system without 
 exclaiming, that whatever might have been the pro- 
 ceedings of the people of colour in the work of re- 
 bellion, their grievances offered considerable ex- 
 tenuation of their conduct. This presents the most 
 disgraceful and indefensible page in the colonial re- 
 cords of criminal jurisprudence. True it is that 
 its severity, that its flagrant injustice, precluded 
 the possibility of putting it in force ; the abhorrence 
 which it so generally excited among all orders of 
 
 * Anonymous. 
 
CHAP. IIT.j OR SAINT DOMINGO. 95 
 
 people, made it a dead letter ; but it was iiotwitli- 
 standing a law in force, and might have been acted 
 upon by an arbitrary and unmerciful judge. 
 
 The only circumstance that contributed towards 
 affording the coloured people some degree of se- 
 curity and protection under their disabilities was 
 the power which they indirectly derived from the 
 possession of property in the colony. They conse- 
 quently had influence, because under a corrupt 
 government money bought it, and many were the 
 venal officers of the state who had stooped to be 
 their pensioners. Many of these mulattoes held 
 large estates, and possessed besides extensive avail- 
 able funds ; these men in most cases evaded those 
 exclusions from society, to which their brethren of 
 less influence were obliged to submit. They were 
 secure enough both in their persons and property, 
 whilst the less wealthy among their coloured bre- 
 thren had to submit to every species of insecurity 
 and mortification. 
 
 I have now said as much as may be deemed ne- 
 cessary on the subject of the situation of the co- 
 loured people at the time of the first disturbances 
 in St. Domingo, and 1 trust I have made it appear 
 conclusive, that the cause of those disturbances did 
 not proceed from the oppression and the tyranny 
 practised over the slaves, but from the measures of 
 tlie national assembly, the colonial assemblies, aided 
 
96 PRESEXT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. [cHAP. III. 
 
 by that specious and intriguing body, the society of 
 Amis des Noirs, and the coloured people then re- 
 siding in France, who had been tainted with the 
 pernicious doctrines then prevaiUng in that coun- 
 try. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Effects of emancipating the slaves. — Arrival of the Bri- 
 tish forces. — Their subsequent operations. — Evacuation 
 by General Maitland. — M. Charmilly negotiates with 
 the English. — Views of the English cabinet. — Parties in 
 the contest. — And insincerity of the French planters. 
 
 Having, in the last chapter, arrived at the period 
 when Santhonax and Polverel conferred freedom 
 upon the slave population, and at the time also when 
 the planters of the colony had solicited the aid of 
 the British government to their cause, I shall now 
 proceed in my detail of the effects produced by the 
 former, and, in as succinct a manner as possible, no- 
 tice a few of the operations of the latter, as well as 
 the consequences arising from them. 
 
 No sooner had the abolition of slavery been pro- 
 mulgated, than it spread through the whole colony 
 with remarkable rapidity, and the work of insubor- 
 dination and destruction commenced. In the dif- 
 ferent parishes the slaves rose simultaneously, form- 
 ed into bodies, took possession of the mountains, 
 and secured themselves within those fastnesses which 
 everywhere abound through the island. They then 
 sallied forth into the plains, spreading devastation 
 around them, setting fire to the cane fields, and de- 
 
 H 
 
98 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cilAP. IV. 
 
 molishing every description of habitation within 
 their range, murdering the unoffending white inha- 
 bitants wherever they met with them. In one part 
 of the colony the insurgents amounted to nearly one 
 hundred thousand, without any leader who had the 
 least possible command over them. In the north 
 their force in the first instance only amounted from 
 about twenty to twenty-five thousand, but they 
 quickly increased to forty thousand of a most de- 
 sperate and sanguinary character. 
 
 The British force under Colonel Whitelocke made 
 its appearance before Jeremie on the 19th of Sep- 
 tember 1793; it consisted only of about eight hun- 
 dred and seventy rank and file. As this place was 
 to be given up to the British force by stipulation, 
 the town was taken possession of the next day, and 
 the inhabitants all took the oath of allegiance with 
 much eagerness. Cape St. Nicolas next followed ; 
 but here the inhabitants displayed some hostility, 
 and most of them joined the standard of republican- 
 ism, although they had before strenuously adhered 
 to the royal cause, and kept the white flag always 
 hoisted. Tiburon was next tried, but here, notwith- 
 standing the strongest pledges of cooperation on 
 the part of the planters, their infidelity was so ma- 
 nifest, and the force of the enemy had become so 
 formidable, that the troops were obliged to retreat 
 with some loss, and this object of the expedition 
 therefore unfortunately failed. From fatigue and 
 
€HAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 99 
 
 from sickness, from the exposure to which they had 
 been subjected, both in the sun and the noxious 
 dews of night, the troops became much disspirited 
 and discouraged, and further operations were sus- 
 pended until a force from England arrived of 
 sufficient magnitude to prosecute further offensive 
 measures. This did not take place until the 
 February following, when a British squadron ar- 
 rived with troops, which were immediately landed, 
 with Major (now Sir Brent) Spencer at their head, 
 who most gallantly attacked the enemy, drove them 
 back with considerable loss, and thereby retrieved 
 that which before ended in a failure. The whole 
 bight of Leogane was now commanded by the British 
 squadron, and a further force being expected from 
 England, it was anticipated that Port au Prince 
 would fall an easy conquest, from the supposition 
 that the people were mostly in favour of their cause. 
 A considerable time elapsed before the reinforce- 
 ments from England made their appearance ; in the 
 interim, many skirmishes took place in the vicinity 
 of Leogane, as well as at Tiburon, and in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Cape Nicolas Mole ; in some instances 
 the British were successflil, and in others the enemy 
 obtained advantages. 
 
 About this period it was that Andrew Rigaud 
 first made his appearance at the head of the revolted 
 slaves : he was a man of colour, and had the com- 
 mand at Aux Cases. With about two thousand of 
 
 k2 
 
100 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. IV. 
 
 the rebels he marched from his station and besieged 
 Tiburon ; but the fort which was manned by some 
 British soldiers, who defended it with their usual 
 intrepidity, and who afterwards sallied forth, attacked 
 the besiegers in the field, and put them to the rout 
 with great slaughter. 
 
 During the interval occasioned by the non-arrival 
 of the reinforcement from England, the planters 
 who were, in the first instance, favourable to the 
 cause of the British, began to shew some symptoms 
 of displeasure ; and the tardiness with which the 
 operations were carried on, and the absence of that 
 decision which the urgency of their situation re- 
 quired, induced many very powerful individuals to 
 relinquish all further adherence to the party in 
 which they had engaged, and to join the republican 
 standard. 
 
 On the 19th of May the force which had been so 
 lonsr looked for arrived under the command of Ge- 
 neral Whyte, who, with Commodore Ford, proceeded 
 at once to deliberate on the measures which it would 
 be adviseable to adopt for the capture of Port au 
 Prince. On the 30th the ships of war, consisting 
 of four ships of the line, three or four frigates, and 
 several smaller vessels, anchored off the city. The 
 land forces amounted to only about fifteen hundred 
 men capable of doing duty. The next morning a 
 flag was sent to summon the city to surrender, to 
 which no attention was paid, and it is even said that 
 
CHAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 101 
 
 the letter was returned unopened. The commis- 
 sioners, Santhonax and Polverel, were known to be 
 in the city with a considerable force ; and it was 
 expected that a powerful stand would be made, for 
 the preservation of this important place. Fort Bi- 
 zotton, which is situate on an eminence to the south- 
 ward of the city, commands the Leogane road and 
 the southern entrance in the harbour. The land-side 
 was attacked by a body of troops under the gallant 
 Major Spencer, whilst a simultaneous attack was 
 made on the sea-side by two of the ships of war. 
 Captain Daniel of the forty-first regiment, with 
 about seventy or eighty men, took advantage of 
 a thunder storm which happened about eight 
 o'clock, entered the breach which had been rendered 
 practicable, and carried the fort at the point of 
 the bayonet. The captain was severely wounded, 
 and some of his men and officers fell. The city 
 soon surrendered, and the commissioners evacuated 
 it on the fourth of June, the birth-day of the then 
 sovereign of Great Britain, George the Third, when 
 the British troops entered and took possession of it 
 together with the shipping in the harbour. It was 
 the intention of the republican commissioners to set 
 fire to the city, but the prompt and decisive attack 
 of the British gave them no time for carrying so de- 
 structive a design into effect. 
 
 This capture was of great consequence to the 
 
102 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [ciIAr. IV. 
 
 cause of the British as far as their proceedings 
 had gone on ; it gave confidence to the soldiers, 
 and inspirited the colonial troops who had joined 
 their standard ; but it afterwards proved to be the 
 grave of many a British officer and soldier : sick- 
 ness began to rage amongst the troops to such 
 an alarming extent, as is generally the case in the 
 autumnal months, that it was found necessary, for 
 the preservation of the post, to erect additional lines 
 of defence, fearing that in their then condition the 
 enemy might try to regain the position. To ac- 
 complish this, the troops were subjected to incessant 
 toil, first in the sun, and then during the night ex- 
 posed to all the pernicious vapours arising from 
 heavy rains which fall during the rainy seasons. In 
 point of booty the capture of Port au Prince was a 
 very fine acquisition, although the commissioners 
 carried off with them every thing valuable which it 
 contained, consisting of upwards of two hundred 
 mule loads. They were accompanied also by up- 
 wards of two thousand of the inhabitants, who fol- 
 lowed in their career. Finding however that they 
 had lost all their influence in the colony, and that 
 Rigaud and Toussaint L'Ouverture had obtained 
 possession of the whole, they thought it expedient 
 to leave the island, and return to France, where they 
 received the congratulations of the government, whose 
 representatives they had been appointed to carry 
 
CHAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 103 
 
 into operation the most injudicious decrees that 
 could possibly have been framed for the internal go- 
 vernment of any colonial appendage. 
 
 The value of the captured property has been va- 
 riously estimated : a writer of some authority says, 
 that " In the harbour were found two and twenty 
 top-sail vessels, fully laden with sugar, indigo, and 
 coffee, of which thirteen were from three to five 
 hundred tons burthen, and the remaining nine from 
 one hundred and fifty to three hundred tons, be- 
 sides seven thousand tons of shipping in ballast ; the 
 value of all which at a moderate computation could 
 not be far short of four hundred thousand pounds 
 sterling. One hundred and thirty-one pieces of can- 
 non regularly mounted in batteries were on the 
 lines."** 
 
 After the reduction of Port au Prince, a further 
 reinforcement arrived under the command of Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Lennox, consisting of about six hun- 
 dred men, but on their passage from the windward 
 islands to Jamaica, to which latter place they first 
 sailed, sickness broke out amongst them, by which 
 more than one hundred died on board, and a hun- 
 dred and fifty were left at Port Royal in the last 
 stage of disease. It is impossible to describe the 
 mortality that prevailed amongst the troops in St. 
 Domingo. When active operations were likely to 
 be attended with a beneficial result, the commander- 
 in-chief was prevented from taking advantage of the 
 
104 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CEIAP. IV. 
 
 positions which he held, by the epidemic which at 
 the time so lamentably raged. There could not be 
 produced eight hundred British soldiers in a condi- 
 tion for the field, and many of them had only a 
 short time previously been discharged from the hos- 
 pitals ; of course they were not equal to the fatigue 
 of active service, nor were they in the least fit for a 
 duty which rendered it necessary to expose them to 
 the pernicious humidity of the night air. The com- 
 mander-in-chief, General Whyte, was seized with 
 this malignant fever ; and his health was so much 
 impaired by the effects of disease, and anxiety for 
 the fate of his officers and men, who were daily dy- 
 ing around him, that he was compelled to leave the 
 island and return to England, when the command 
 devolved on Brigadier-General Horneck. 
 
 From the departure of General Whyte in Sep- 
 tember, 1794, until the arrival of General William- 
 son in the month of May following, nothing of any 
 material consequence ensued, except some skirmishes 
 between the posts of the British and revolters, at- 
 tended with no decisive result on either side. During 
 this short period of inactivity on the part of the 
 British, Rigaud, collecting a strong force, advanced 
 towards Leogane, which at that time was defended 
 by some colonial troops, and succeeding in his at- 
 tack upon the place, he inhumanly murdered the 
 French planters who fell into his power, and after- 
 wards advanced upon Port au Prince ; but in his at- 
 
CHAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 105 
 
 tempt upon Fort Bizotton which commanded his 
 advance, he failed, having been repulsed by the 
 garrison, with great slaughter, whence he retreat- 
 ed, for the purpose of making another effort for the 
 recovery of Tiburon. He left Aux Cases with a 
 force of three thousand men with four small armed 
 vessels, and on the 25th of December they com- 
 menced the attack on the place. The fort, which 
 consisted of only about four hundred and fifty men, 
 defended it with great bravery ; and after the loss of 
 two-thirds of their number, the remainder sallied 
 forth, cut their way through the revolters, and 
 reached Irois in safety. 
 
 In the vicinity of St. Marc, Colonel Brisbane, who 
 commanded there, had much to do in keeping the 
 insurgents in check, who had at this time become ex- 
 ceedingly bold in their movements, and seemed de- 
 termined on the most vigorous operations, both offen- 
 sive and defensive. The colonel with a few British 
 and some colonial troops, obtained advantages over 
 them in several skirmishes in the plains of the Ar- 
 tibanite ; but whilst he was engaged there the mu- 
 latto inhabitants of St. Marc, who had pledged them- 
 selves most solemnly to observe the strictest neu- 
 trality, violated their pledge, and in the most coward- 
 ly manner put to death all whom they found actively 
 engaged against the French republic. The garrison 
 defended themselves in the fort, from whence they 
 were relieved in a short time by a vessel of war from 
 
106 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. lY. 
 
 Cape Nicolas Mole. The white inhabitants also of 
 St. Marc, many of whom were the most forward to 
 hail the arrival of the British and to place them- 
 selves under British protection, engaged in a plot 
 for the destruction of Colonel Brisbane, but that of- 
 ficer, ever on the alert, discovered and successfully 
 defeated their designs. 
 
 At Port au Prince a similar conspiracy was 
 brought to light, the object of which was the de- 
 struction of the garrison and all the English people 
 by those very French inhabitants who joined in 
 hailing with acclamations the arrival of the British 
 force before the city. Such abominable treachery 
 did not go without its commensurate punishment ; 
 the conspirators were seized, and about twenty of 
 the principal ones, amongst whom were several 
 French officers of rank, were condemned by the sen- 
 tence of a court-martial. Of these conspirators fif- 
 teen were shot on the 18th of February, 1795, and 
 the remainder were sent off the island. 
 
 General Williamson, who had been previously 
 appointed commander-in-chief in the West Indies, 
 arrived in the island in IVIay, and immediately pro- 
 ceeded to place every station in the best state of de- 
 fence that his very limited means would allow. He 
 endeavoured to strengthen the whole line of posts 
 from St. Marc to Jeremie, and not having a force 
 sufficient to enable him to secure all points by a 
 strong cordon of British and colonial troops, he re- 
 
CHAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 107 
 
 sorted to a measure which, although at the moment 
 it might have been one of expediency, was not likely 
 to be advantageous in the end. To augment his 
 force he formed several corps of negroes, whom he 
 purchased of the French planters, and placed them 
 under the command of officers of the line ; but their 
 inefficiency was soon discovered, and they became 
 not only a very unserviceable, but also a very un- 
 governable body. General Williamson retained the 
 command but a very short time ; his successor, 
 General Forbes, completed the arrangements of his 
 predecessor, and remained entirely on the defensive. 
 
 In the autumn of this year, 1795, intelligence had 
 been received that the war between France and 
 Spain had terminated, and that the Spanish part of 
 the island had been ceded to the French republic in 
 perpetuity. It was stipulated, however, that so many 
 of the inhabitants as should feel disposed to depart 
 from the island to reside in the dominions of the 
 King of Spain, should be permitted to remove or 
 dispose of their property, and that the space of one 
 year should be granted to them for that purpose. 
 
 About the end of this year the termination of the 
 operations in Flanders having placed troops at the 
 disposal of the British government, Brigadier-Ge- 
 neral Howe arrived with about seven thousand men 
 at Cape Nicolas Mole. From the extent of this 
 force a great deal might have been accomplished 
 had they arrived at an earlier stage of the proceedings 
 
108 TRESEXT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IV. 
 
 in the island, but the subjugation of the colony had 
 now become extremely difficult, if not altogether im- 
 practicable. They attempted but little, and becom- 
 ing languid and spiritless from sickness and disease, 
 whilst the enemy were increasing in numbers, as well 
 as in vigour and activity, the little that was under- 
 taken proved unsuccessful. 
 
 It was not until the month of March, 17975 that 
 any active operations were recommenced ; when Ge- 
 neral Simcoe landed to take the command, an officer 
 who had been selected by his government for the 
 important trust, from his known talents and tried ex- 
 perience. He began his arduous undertaking by 
 examining the whole line of defence, and lost no 
 time in making every judicious arrangement for re- 
 suming offensive operations. It was also about the 
 same time that the negro Toussaint L'Ouverture 
 appeared invested by the republican government 
 of France with the high rank of General-in-Chief 
 of the Armies of St. Domingo. To this very 
 extraordinary personage the British general was 
 destined first to be opposed ; and from the sys- 
 tem of insurrectional warfare which had been pur- 
 sued, the general found he had to combat with an 
 antagonist of no ordinary capacity and courage. 
 Wary and exceedingly cautious, well acquainted with 
 the strength of the British force and the experience 
 of their commanders, Toussaint made no effort 
 beyond that of menacing the position of Mircba- 
 
CHAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 109 
 
 lais, before whicli he appeared with an almost over- 
 whelming force. The British force at that point 
 not being sufficient to oppose his progress, retired 
 thence through the plains of Cul de Sac into Port 
 au Prince, abandoning the whole of the country 
 through which they retreated, and from which, 
 from its fertility, the enemy were enabled to obtain 
 abundance of provisions. By this movement also 
 all communication with the Spanish part of the 
 island was cut off. 
 
 To the southward, however, the operations were 
 more favourable to the British. The negroes were 
 driven from every post which they had occupied in 
 the neighbourhood of Port au Prince, and Rigaud 
 at the head of his mulatto force was defeated at 
 Irois. Nearly at the same time Toussaint attacked 
 St. Marc''s, but was obliged to retire with consider- 
 able loss, leaving a great many of his followers pri- 
 soners. 
 
 Notwithstanding these partial successes the Bri- 
 tish cause in the island seemed on the wane, and 
 their force diminishing from a variety of concurrent 
 circumstances, no attempt was afterwards made 
 to advance against the enemy; but measures were 
 adopted to guard against any surprise or any attack 
 which their opponents contemplated upon those 
 positions, in the line of defence, which were con- 
 sidered to be vulnerable. In the interim, and dur- 
 ing the existence of this irregular warfare, General 
 
110 FRESIlXT state of HAYTI, [tHAP. lY, 
 
 Simcoe, finding that in the present condition of 
 his forces nothing could be undertaken with the 
 least probability of success, and that to remain 
 within his line of defence was imperative, left 
 the island about the month of August, when the 
 command devolved on Major-General Whyte. Fi- 
 nally, however, the Honourable Brigadier-General 
 Maitland succeeded, to whom was left the important 
 duty of making the most beneficial arrangements 
 for evacuating the island, which his situation could 
 command. And when it is considered that that sral- 
 lant officer (who did not arrive until April, 1798,) 
 took the command of the British forces under cir- 
 cumstances of extreme difficulty and discomfiture, 
 at the moment of disasters and distress, the termin- 
 ation of the contest, the subsequent truce and ne- 
 gotiations with Toussaint, although making some 
 concession, were called for by considerations of 
 overwhelming expediency. These negotiations gave 
 up the whole of the British possessions, and their 
 colonial black troops (for whom a very large sum of 
 money was paid to the very persons who afterwards 
 took arms against them) to the black general, Tous- 
 saint, in the name of the French republic, and thus 
 ended an enterprise from which no advantage re- 
 sulted either to the ex-colonists or to the interests 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 It is not my province to enter into a discussion 
 of the merits of the enterprise into which Great 
 
eHAP. IV.] OR SAIXT DOMINGO. Ill 
 
 Britain had been led, nor shall I venture to cen- 
 sure the undertaking on the one hand, or to ap- 
 plaud it on the other. It was commenced unques- 
 tionably at an unfavourable period, when the go- 
 vernment of England had to contend, not only 
 against the gigantic power of the French republic in 
 Europe, but against the revolutionary spirit which 
 had manifested itself at that time in England. In- 
 volved, therefore, as she was at the time of the 
 emigration of the French agents from St. Domingo 
 in disputes abroad and in domestic feuds at home, 
 it is not surprising that those efforts were not made 
 which the planters had anticipated, and which they 
 were led to expect from the pledges which had been 
 given to M. Charmilly, who had been the organ of 
 those planters, and who, it is to be feared, was too 
 sanguine in his representations of the unanimity 
 which prevailed amongst them. I should be dis- 
 posed to think favourably of the conduct of M. 
 Charmilly had I not received the most unquestion- 
 able information, that his communications were much 
 too highly coloured, and that his zeal for the cause 
 of his colony somewhat exceeded that which ought 
 to have been evinced by a discreet and prudent nego- 
 tiator. The British general was without doubt de- 
 ceived as to the strength of the revolters and as to 
 the disposition of the planters ; and the unanimity 
 said to have existed amongst them, was most mani- 
 festly negatived by subsequent events, in which in- 
 
112 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IV. 
 
 trigue and treachery superseded fidelity and honour. 
 M. Charmilly, however, in the opinions of many, 
 may not have subjected himself to censure by his 
 conduct ; he may have been actuated by the best of 
 motives, and have thought, at the time, that by ex- 
 hibiting a favourable side of the picture the impres- 
 sion would be likely to succeed ; but the best in- 
 formed persons, with whom I have had opportunities 
 of conversing on the subject, have given it as their 
 unbiassed sentiment, that had not the disposition of 
 the colony been too favourably represented, the Bri- 
 tish cabinet would either never have entered into 
 the contest, or have undertaken it with their accus- 
 tomed promptitude and known vigour ; they would 
 never have left any thing to chance, nor have de- 
 pended so much upon extensive cooperation. 
 
 However much inclined Great Britain might have 
 been to seize a favourable moment for dismember- 
 ing republican France of her colonial possessions, 
 yet I think she would have paused before she com- 
 menced any offensive operations against St. Do- 
 mingo in its then insurrectional state, had she not 
 been led by the most specious arguments to believe 
 that the object was attainable without any great ef- 
 forts ; for although the slaves were in open rebel- 
 lion, still they, as well as the mulattoes, were di- 
 vided against themselves, and that an interposing 
 power would inevitably turn the scale, and eventual- 
 ly succeed in restoring tranquillity, and finally the 
 
CHAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 113 
 
 conquest of the whole colony. That the cabinet of 
 England had been influenced by the accounts laid 
 before it of the state of St. Domingo, needs no fur- 
 ther argument than this, that the force sent was 
 quite inadequate for the accomplishment of the ob- 
 ject, which certainly would not have happened, had 
 the descent upon that island received that delibera- 
 tion which was usually given to similar operations 
 in the time of war. 
 
 Before I proceed any further in my remarks, it 
 may not be irrelevant to shew who were the parties 
 engaged in this civil warfare and general havoc in 
 the colony, for I find only one or two who have 
 written before me who have been sufficiently clear 
 and explicit on this point ; and it is probable that I 
 may not be quite so explanatory as the subject re- 
 quires, but I shall, I trust, succeed in dissipating 
 some of the cloud in which the whole seems to have 
 been enveloped. 
 
 At the commencement of the revolution in the 
 colony, the party that first appeared was composed 
 of those white inhabitants who were tainted with re- 
 publicanism, those of the mulattoes or gens de cou- 
 leur of property who imbibed the same principles, 
 and others of the people of colour, who had no stake 
 in the country, but embraced similar opinions re- 
 specting liberty and equality. Their opponents 
 consisted of the white inhabitants and persons of 
 colour who adhered to the old form of government. 
 
 I 
 
114 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IV. 
 
 To the former party, in the course of time, were 
 added the revolted negroes, who had doubtless been 
 instigated by them, and after the promulgation of 
 the decree declaring a general emancipation, they 
 were joined by the greater proportion, if not by the 
 whole of that class. To the latter party a few 
 only of the mulattoes, and a very small body of 
 negroes, remained attached; added to which were the 
 British forces which, from the end of the year 1793 
 to the evacuation in 1798, at different periods were 
 landed. 
 
 To strengthen the former party, and to weaken 
 the latter, the decrees of the national assembly of 
 France materially contributed, whilst the proceed- 
 ings of the general colonial and provincial assem- 
 blies, instead of giving to the latter any support, 
 had a contrary effect, by inducing many of the peo- 
 ple of colour, who had espoused it, to hoist the 
 national cockade, and become active members of 
 the republican party, thereby giving the cause of 
 the royalists a fatal blow. It will be perceived 
 that most of these proceedings of the two parties in 
 the contest occurred before the British forces had 
 been called in; and that the emancipation of the 
 slaves was simultaneous with their arrival and an 
 act of the French commissioners to strengthen the 
 national cause against the royalists and the British. 
 Now as the agents or emigrants of the royalist party 
 who had gone to England, and as the negotiations 
 
CHAP. IV.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 115 
 
 of M. Charmilly took place at the very period when 
 the hopes of his party rested upon so insecure a 
 foundation, it seems to me something Hke deception 
 was practised, and that the British government were 
 not correctly informed of the actual state of the 
 cause which they were engaging to support ; and it 
 is under this impression, an impression founded 
 upon the authority of persons who were actually 
 engaged in all the scenes of active operations which 
 took place from the first arrival of the British to 
 the termination of their proceedings under the Ho- 
 nourable Brigadier-General Maitland, that I ven- 
 ture to charge the French planters and their party 
 with that want of unanimity which M. Charmilly, 
 their accredited representative, assured the British 
 commander displayed itself through most parts of 
 the colony ,> 
 
 If an impartial review be taken of the whole of 
 the conduct of the French planters during the con- 
 test in which they were embroiled, it will become 
 evident that no blame can be attached to the Bri- 
 tish commanders who were successively employed. 
 They had to contend against a variety of conflicting 
 opinions and unexampled sickness, and had local 
 difliculties to surmount of great magnitude. They 
 evinced on all occasions superior military judgment, 
 undaunted courage, and unwearied zeal, and ex- 
 hibited the greatest prudence and discretion in mo- 
 ments of no ordinary anxiety. 
 
 I 2 
 
116 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, ETC. [CIIAP. IV. 
 
 The calamitous disease which prevailed amongst 
 the troops, was itself almost enough to disspirit the 
 most sanguine ; and it is not to be wondered at, that 
 men who met death bravely in the field, should 
 have shrunk from its approaches when it thus appear- 
 ed in all its hideous forms amongst their comrades. 
 
 Such was the state of things in the colony at the 
 close of the year 1798, and with which I shall con- 
 clude this chapter. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 The period between the evacuation by the British forces 
 and the arrival of the French army under Le Clerc— 
 Cultivation. — Law to enforce it. — Character of Tons- 
 saint. — Reverses. — His arrangement with the French 
 general. — His seizure and removal to France. 
 
 The evacuation of the colony by the British troops 
 having taken place, most of the planters who had 
 been faithful to their engagements departed at the 
 same time, taking with them such moveable pro- 
 perty as they were enabled to carry away : many 
 proceeded to Jamaica, and others to Cuba and 
 the United States. Toussaint L'Ouverture was 
 thus left in full possession of the island, and in 
 the undisturbed enjoyment of the chief command, 
 with which he had been invested some time before 
 by the French repubHc. The adherents to the Bri- 
 tish, except such as had previously left the island 
 under the protection of the English squadron, hav- 
 ing joined the national standard, every thing seemed 
 to have the appearance of tranquillity. Peace suc- 
 ceeded the din of arms and the asperities of civil 
 war. 
 
 Having, therefore, completely subjugated the 
 party who had been opposed to him, Toussaint com- 
 
118 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 menced his work of improvement in the whole de- 
 partment of his government. Free from the toils of 
 the complicated warfare in which he had been en- 
 gaged, his first care and attention were turned to 
 
 DO ' 
 
 the culture of the soil, in which in a short period 
 he made the most rapid and astonishing progress : 
 strongly impressed with the conviction that " agri- 
 culture is the main spring, the master sinew of 
 every great state, the perennial fountain of wealth", 
 he began to enforce a rigid attention to all its 
 branches, and by every possible means to place it in 
 that highly productive condition in which it stood 
 previously to the revolution. Many of the planters 
 who had joined his standard were reinvested with 
 their estates, but without any property in the slaves, 
 and they were encouraged by him to persevere in 
 the cultivation of their lands, assured of his pro- 
 tection and of the early adoption of such regulations 
 as should enable them to procure cultivators. He 
 seems to have possessed a very correct idea of the 
 true source from whence national wealth was ob- 
 tained, and he left no measures untried that would 
 in the least promote its increase. He had heard, and 
 appeared firmly to believe " that rural or agricultural 
 labours are equally conducive to health and strength 
 of body and mind. The culture of the earth consti- 
 tutes the most natural and innocent employment of 
 man ; it fills our houses with plenty and our hearts 
 with gladness " He never allowed an opportunity 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 119 
 
 to escape him of shewing how indelibly this maxim 
 was imprinted on his mind. It may, however, be 
 well imagined, that after five or six years' relaxation 
 from the labours of the field, those who had been 
 accustomed to it in a state of slavery, were not at 
 all disposed to return of their own accord to their 
 original occupations ; and as he well knew that his 
 negro brethren could not be easily induced to la- 
 bour, and that some degree of coercion would be 
 requisite to enforce it, he began to issue strict in- 
 junctions, that every one not employed in any mili- 
 tary capacity should labour in the cultivation of the 
 lands held not only by the government, but by such 
 of the planters as had been restored to their estates. 
 The planters were compelled to receive them on 
 their plantations in the capacity of servants, and 
 the cultivators were ordered by the government to 
 make choice of their employers under whom they 
 were destined to work for their sustenance, and were 
 not on any consideration permitted to leave the pro- 
 perties on which they in the first instance agreed to 
 labour, unless their services were required in the 
 army. The government had fixed a remuneration 
 for the cultivators equal to one-third of the crops, 
 but there were many who made other an-angements 
 more suitable to the views of parties, and by which, 
 also, each was accommodated. Such a law as this, 
 and enforced so immediately after the cessation of 
 civil war, when the minds of the negroes were scarcely 
 
120 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. V. 
 
 cool, was a strong illustration of the power which 
 Toussaint held over them, and of his conviction, 
 that nothing could be accomplished in the advance- 
 ment of agriculture unless he at once adopted pow- 
 erful and rigid measures. He therefore enacted 
 laws and regulations to encourage and excite indus- 
 try, while he denounced very heavy penalties against 
 idleness and vagrancy. 
 
 This celebrated edict for the enforcing of the 
 culture of the soil appeared in the year 1800, and 
 it subsequently formed a leading part of the Code 
 Henry of Christophe. It embraces every object 
 that could possibly be conceived likely to promote 
 his great aim ; and whilst its enactments might 
 have the appearance of severity, unpalatable to the 
 people just emerged from slavery, so great was his 
 influence that he felt no alarm for the consequences 
 of enforcing them ; and those who had the temerity 
 to infringe them were visited with the whole weight 
 of the penalties. 
 
 This law apportions the hours of labour for the 
 cultivator, which by the 22d article appears in every 
 point the same as that which is exacted from the 
 slave in the British islands, that is to say, it com- 
 mences at the break of day and concludes at night, 
 allowing an interval of an hour for breakfast, and 
 another of two hours at noon, or thereabouts. It 
 provides against any innovations, and precludes the 
 labourer or the proprietor from the chance of impos- 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 121 
 
 ing on each other. I see nothhig ambiguous in it, it 
 is clear in the letter, and the spirit of it cannot be er- 
 roneously interpreted. From the 113th to the 120th 
 article inclusive, it appears beyond the possibility of 
 contradiction, that Toussaint was conscious that no- 
 thing could be done in the work of the soil without 
 such forcible regulations as would command the 
 most strict attention to tillage. 
 
 It is quite clear that the labour which this law 
 exacted each day from the cultivator was not op- 
 pressive, nor have I been able to discover that the 
 slaves in the British colonial possessions ever com- 
 plained of the labour to which they were subjected, 
 as having been too severe ; and it is undeniable 
 that Toussaint, under the very law which has been 
 cited, compelled the same portion to be done, and 
 that for the better insuring its performance, military 
 guards were placed to superintend the labourers and 
 to seize those who endeavoured to evade their duty. 
 That they could not have been injured by labour, 
 and that they did not murmur at its quantum is 
 tolerably clear, for it is said by a writer of some re- 
 pute, that " the plantation negroes were in general 
 contented, healthful, and happy"; and that this was 
 their condition I am assured by the concurring tes- 
 timony of men who hnd witnessed their state at that 
 period. Is it not the case also in the British co- 
 lonies ? Are not the slaves on the plantations in the 
 time of crop, when the labour is perhaps heavier than 
 
122 PRESENT STATE OP HAYTT, [cHAP. V. 
 
 at any other period, " contented, healthful, and 
 happy"? Most unquestionably they are; I never 
 saw them otherwise than " contented and happy", 
 except at the moment when some insidious and in- 
 triguing person was attempting to estrange them, 
 and to impress them with the idea that they were 
 degraded and debased. 
 
 If degradation accompanied labour, the cultivators 
 under Toussaint were the most abject people in ex- 
 istence, for they were driven to it under the strong 
 arm of military power, and for any offence which 
 they committed they were liable to be brought be- 
 fore a military tribunal. There were no civil au- 
 thorities by which the indolent or refractory culti- 
 vator was to be tried for his offences ; there was no 
 distinction between the vagrant who was detected 
 in idleness and the soldier who fled from his post, 
 they were both amenable to the military power, were 
 sentenced by a court-martial, and awarded an equal 
 punishment. 
 
 Possessed of no mean capacity and judgment, 
 he knew the character and the dispositions of his 
 negro brethren, and so nicely did he discern and 
 reward industry, and discriminate between the ac- 
 tive and meritorious and the indolent and the 
 worthless, that, although in some cases his judg- 
 ment was harsh, it was admitted to be just. His 
 plans were allowed to have been devised with 
 great skill, and his regulations produced the hap- 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 123 
 
 piest results, which soon became manifest through- 
 out the whole colony. His agricultural improve- 
 ments excited the astonishment and surprise of his 
 greatest enemies, for in a short period after he com- 
 menced his. system, the most beneficial results be- 
 came visible; and notwithstanding the protracted 
 warfare in which he had been engaged, and the de- 
 vastation caused by it, he produced a crop equal to 
 one-third of the quantity of the best year of the 
 French planters. 
 
 He was extremely attentive to the state of the 
 population, which he was anxious to increase by 
 every possible means. He held out to those who 
 had emigrated during the contest, every encourage- 
 ment to return, pledging himself to reinstate them 
 in their properties, and assuring them that their 
 agricultural avocations should receive all the sup- 
 port which it was possible for him to afford. This 
 had a very happy effect, and many returned and 
 brought with them the slaves who had accompanied 
 them in their flight, but who of course became free 
 on their landing. He also endeavoured to impress 
 the people with a sense of their improper conduct 
 when they addicted themselves to sensuahty and 
 voluptuousness, and made great efforts to prevent 
 its extension, by recommending marriage through- 
 out his country : he was aware of the evil effects of 
 the system of polygamy which prevailed amongst his 
 brethren, and knew that it was a severe check on the 
 
124 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V, 
 
 increase of population, for he had discovered innu- 
 merable instances in which the offsprings were but 
 few, where concubinage was so unlimited ; and after 
 a short time, it became evident that an increased 
 population resulted from his salutary regulations. 
 
 With regard to the general character of this ex- 
 traordinary man I have but little to say in addition 
 to what has been already recorded of him. I am 
 however inclined to believe that his biographers 
 speak of him with too much warmth, and would 
 have it believed that he was almost without a fault. 
 Whatever may be the prevailing opinion, he has 
 left indelible marks behind him which prove that he 
 was revengeful and sanguinary in the field ; and the 
 atrocities and cruelties which he exercised over 
 those mulattoes who fell into his hands, are demon- 
 strative of no little ferocity of disposition. It has 
 been argued in exculpation, that surrounded as he 
 was with people of that class who adhered to his 
 cause, and who, he expected, might revolt and join 
 the standard of his enemies, it was a matter of ab- 
 solute expediency, that he should resort to the se- 
 verest measures to deter them from deserting his 
 standard, or from engaging in any enterprise inimi- 
 cal to his cause. But in all his actions he seemed to 
 be actuated by a determination to exact the most 
 rigid acquiescence in his will and a complete ac- 
 knowledgment of his supreme power, and to esta- 
 bish which, true it is, he had at times recourse to 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 125 
 
 very harsh and cruel measures, which, although ef- 
 fectual for a time, nevertheless proved injurious to 
 the peace and security of his government after- 
 wards. 
 
 Rainsford, who is no mean authority, for he had 
 personal knowledge of Toussaint, says, that he was 
 a man without those unrelenting feelings which 
 others ascribe to him ; but this opinion may proceed 
 from gratitude on the part of that officer, who was 
 set at liberty by Toussaint after having been in pri- 
 son for a considerable period, and in momentary 
 expectation of the forfeiture of his life. Speaking 
 of him in his general character, and of his actions 
 in the field, he says: '' Thus proceeded this illus- 
 trious man, like the simple acorn, first promiscuous- 
 ly scattered by the winds, in its slow but beauteous 
 progress to the gigantic oak, spreading its foliage 
 with august grandeur above the minor growth of the 
 forest, defending the humble shrub, and braving the 
 fiiry of the contending elements.^"* And again, as if 
 the author would wish to find a cover for the many 
 massacres which Toussaint had sanctioned and in- 
 dulged in, he says : " When the cloud, charged 
 with electric fluid, becomes too ponderous, it selects 
 not the brooding murderer on the barren heath, but 
 bursts perhaps indiscriminately in wasteful ven- 
 geance over the innocent flocks reposing in verdant 
 fields. He was, without doubt, a man possessed of 
 many virtues, and performed many very good and 
 
126 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 very generous acts, and, what must be admitted to 
 have redounded greatly to his reputation, he was 
 always grateful, and never left an obligation unre- 
 quited. To those planters whom he induced to re- 
 turn to the island, and whom he restored to their 
 properties, he was generous, kind, and indulgent ; 
 and of the confidence which they placed in his as- 
 surances, they had never cause to repent. Taking 
 him altogether, he was undoubtedly a most extraor- 
 dinary character, and whatever might have been the 
 extent of his vices, they were certainly counter-ba- 
 lanced and atoned for by many virtues."" 
 
 It is said of him by another writer, who seems to 
 have been conversant with all his private and public 
 acts, that " the excellences of his character unfolded 
 themselves more and more, as opportunities were 
 afforded for their developement. The same huma- 
 nity and benevolence which had adorned his humble 
 life, continued to distinguish him in his elevation. 
 He never imitated the conduct of other leaders, in 
 flattering the multitude, encouraging them in crimes, 
 or urging them to revenge and slaughter ; on the 
 contrary, mercy, industry, and order were always 
 inculcated by his counsels, recommended by his ex- 
 ample, and enforced by his authority. The fertility 
 of his inventions, the correctness of his judgments, 
 the celerity of his movements, the extent of his la- 
 bours in the combined and multifarious business of 
 war and government astonished both friends and 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 127 
 
 foes."* And in another place it is observed of him ; 
 " If there was one trait in his character more con- 
 spicuous than the rest, it was his unsullied integrity. 
 That he never broke his word, was a proverbial ex- 
 pression common in the mouths of the white inha- 
 bitants of the island, and of the English officers who 
 were employed in hostilities against him." 
 
 Immediately after the business of the war had 
 been completed, Toussaint proceeded to the restor- 
 ation of public worship, according to the forms 
 which existed prior to the revolution, and he even 
 extended the liberty of religious worship beyond the 
 Roman communion, by admitting one or two of the 
 Methodist persuasion, who had arrived from the 
 United States, to the privilege of preaching in Cape 
 Francois, and to whom he gave every protection. 
 
 His military establishment was on a scale of some 
 extent during the war, but was much reduced at the 
 peace.^ The discipline of his troops did him great 
 credit, and excited considerable surprise in the Bri- 
 tish officers ; their movements were effected with 
 great precision, and although they were not after 
 the manner of European evolutions, yet they were 
 well adapted for that species of irregular warfare in 
 which they were engaged. The men were under 
 tolerable command, and no symptoms of insubordi- 
 nation were known to have shewn themselves ; they 
 seemed to be aware of the consequences that would 
 
 * Anonymous. 
 
128 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 ensue to their cause if order and submission were 
 not rigidly exacted, and they were therefore taught 
 to obey their officers as a duty indispensable for their 
 security. 
 
 The country generally was so intersected and 
 varied with underwood and mountains of difficult 
 ascent, that more reliance was placed on the move- 
 ments of irregular bodies detached in small parties, 
 than on any thing that could be accomplished by 
 the more steady operations of heavy masses. Such 
 being the mode of warfare best calculated to meet 
 the obstacles presented to military operations, Tous- 
 saint sought to drill his troops in such evolutions as 
 would enable him effectually to meet the exigencies 
 with which he might have to contend. He had them 
 taught expertness, promptitude and dexterity, and 
 quick and steady firing, without any attention to 
 those movements in column which are so much prac- 
 tised in Europe. It is said of them, that " at a 
 whistle a whole brigade would run three or four 
 hundred yards, then separating, throw themselves 
 flat on the ground, changing to their backs or sides, 
 keeping up a strong fire the whole of the time till 
 they were recalled ; then they would form again in 
 an instant with their wonted regularity. This sin- 
 gle manoeuvre used to be executed with such facility 
 and precision as totally to prevent cavalry from 
 charging them in bushy and hilly countries." This 
 system is nearly similar to the one practised by our 
 rifle and light infantry corps in England, and de- 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 129 
 
 cideclly best adapted for any operations in the colo- 
 nies, where the country presents so rugged and un- 
 even a surface. The amount of his force has been 
 variously stated, and I do not conceive it possible 
 to give a fair estimate of the whole during the time 
 of the war : his peace establishment consisted of 
 about forty thousand foot and two thousand cavalry, 
 all of which were well equipped, and at all times 
 in readiness for active service. 
 
 In the organization of his government, and in 
 the framing of his constitution and laws, Tous- 
 saint was assisted by some able men from America 
 and Europe. He never allowed any prejudices 
 against white persons to influence him, when their 
 services were required, nor did he permit any of the 
 superior oflicers of his government to shew any dis- 
 respect towards them, but he exacted the most 
 courtly attention to them as the most likely means 
 to secure the aid of men of learning, whatever 
 may have been their country or their calling. It 
 was by this that he induced the able IMoliere and 
 M. Marinit, as well as several well-informed English 
 and Americans to reside near him ; to these he was 
 kind and liberal, obtaining from them the greatest 
 assistance in the organization of his municipal go- 
 vernments, and in the whole arrangement of the 
 different departments of state, as well as in form- 
 ing regulations for the better insuring to his coun- 
 try a commercial intercourse with strangers, with- 
 
 K 
 
130 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 out which all his efforts in cultivating the soil 
 would have been unavailing; for without a vent for 
 the products there would have been no stimulus 
 for the exertions of the grower, and one of the 
 sources of national wealth would consequently have 
 been dried up. His tour through the Spanish part 
 of the island was attended with considerable ad- 
 vantage to him, for it infused a kind of confidence 
 into the people, by whom he was received in every 
 part with great respect, and often with every de- 
 monstration of joy. This is not surprising, for the 
 fame of his deeds and his warlike achievements and 
 his deportment, which is said to have been mild and 
 courtly, were likely to excite favourable sentiments, 
 and to elicit a good deal of applause. This tour 
 was certainly one of necessity, and not undertaken 
 from any vain parade and ostentation ; for the 
 Spanish part of the island, although formally ceded 
 to France by the treaty of 1795, had not all been 
 occupied by the republican forces. The city of 
 Santo Domingo, a place of considerable strength, 
 and surrounded with fortifications sufficiently power- 
 ful to resist any attack that might have been made 
 upon it, still held out, and it was not until the ar- 
 rival of Toussaint in 1801, with a large force, that 
 a legal surrender of the whole Spanish division was 
 finally accomplished. Having succeeded in this, he 
 left his brother Paul in command, and then pursued 
 his journey through the other districts, establishing 
 
CHAT, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 131 
 
 posts, appointing officers to command them, with 
 other important military and civil arrangements, 
 which he deemed necessary for the purpose of 
 governing more easily the whole of that part of the 
 island. Haying completed this tour, which was 
 attended with much benefit to every part of the 
 island which he visited, he began to hope for some 
 repose from the fatigues attendant on such multi- 
 farious occupations, which might enable him to 
 cultivate the sweets of peace and retirement, as 
 well as to see all those designs fully completed, and 
 which had for their object, the enriching of his 
 country and the happiness of his people. 
 
 The end of the year 1801 placed the whole island 
 once more in some degree of tranquillity, and in 
 submission to the authority of the negro chief, 
 rapidly advancing in wealth and increasing its 
 intercourse with those countries which sought to 
 establish with it the friendly relations of commerce. 
 But the short peace of Amiens, which took place in 
 October of that year, leaving the then ruler in 
 France, Bonaparte, without any power to contend 
 with, his first object was the recovery of Saint 
 Domingo. Wanting employment for his large 
 armies, and instigated by the fugitive colonists who 
 had been expelled at the commencement of the 
 revolution, and who were anxiously longing for 
 their lost possessions ; thirsting also for colonies 
 and commerce, and urged by the speculators in 
 
 K 2 
 
132 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. V. 
 
 France, he determined on subjugating the island 
 by force, reestablishing slavery, and reinstating 
 the ex-colonists in their original properties. To 
 accomphsh these objects by force rather than by 
 negotiation, was more congenial to the temper and 
 martial spirit of the French ruler. He therefore 
 began to make extensive preparations for an under- 
 taking, which he vainly thought could not fail 
 ultimately to gain new laurels for his troops, and 
 exalt himself more than ever in the estimation of 
 the people of France, who were always forward 
 to reward him for any successes which accom- 
 panied his eiforts, with no ordinary demonstrations 
 of joy. 
 
 This expedition consisted of twenty-six sail of 
 the line, on board of which were embarked 25,000 
 men, under the command of the brother-in-law of 
 Bonaparte, General Le Clerc, seconded by some 
 of the ablest generals of France, and many other 
 officers of distinction who were conversant with 
 the island, and who formerly held properties in 
 it. Not, however, relying entirely on what such 
 a force might be able to execute, the First Consul 
 had recourse to a measure which he concluded would 
 insure the neutrality of Toussaint, if it did not 
 induce him to lend him an active cooperation. 
 Two of the sons of the negro chief had been sent 
 to France for their education, for the purpose of 
 giving them the opportunity of following a course 
 
CHAP, v.] OB SAINT DOMINGO. 133 
 
 ©f studies, which might prepare them to fill, with 
 advantage to their country, those important posts 
 for which they seemed destined. Taken from their 
 preceptor by orders of the First Consul, they were 
 hurried on board the fleet, to be made as it were to 
 intercede with their father, and, if possible, to 
 prevail on him to accede to such proposals as the 
 commander-in-chief of the expedition was em- 
 powered to offer ; and, in fact, they were placed as 
 hostages in the hands of the French commanders, 
 and thus made amenable for any hostile steps which 
 their father might be disposed to take. 
 
 The expedition arrived in the bay of Sumana, in 
 the eastern extremity of the island, on the 25th of 
 January, 1802, when, without the least delay, 
 General Le Clerc distributed his force into three 
 divisions, which were to make simultaneous attacks 
 on three distinct parts of the colony. One division 
 was directed to disembark and take possession of 
 the city of Santo Domingo, and was commanded 
 by General Kerseran; another, under General Bou- 
 det, was sent to Port au Prince ; whilst the com- 
 mander-in-chief proceeded with the remainder of 
 the troops to the south side, when a part was landed 
 at Mansenillo Bay, under General Rochambeau ; 
 and the principal body with Le Clerc, and his per- 
 sonal staff intended to disembark at Cape Francois, 
 for the purpose of gaining possession of that city. 
 
 Toussaint had been apprised of the intentions of 
 
134 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAF. V. 
 
 tlic French government to send out a force to Saint 
 Domingo, but of its extent, its nature, and its 
 ulterior designs, he had no knowledge. He merely 
 conjectiu-ed, that it had no hostile object, and that 
 it was just such a force as might have been expected 
 would be sent by the parent state, for the better 
 insuring the peace and obedience of the colony. 
 That such was his impression I think there is great 
 reason to believe, for he issued his orders to all his 
 generals at their respective posts, commanding them 
 to receive the French troops without suspicion ; and 
 his proclamation called upon the people to admit 
 them as friends. Others again seem to infer that 
 he not only knew that the designs of the consu- 
 lar cabinet were inimical to the existing order of 
 things in the colony, but that he knew the extent 
 of the means which were to be employed in their 
 execution. If this latter were the fact, then that 
 caution, vigilance, and activity which had marked 
 his former career, had entirely forsaken him, for it 
 is evident he made no preparations for the reception 
 of a force entertaining hostile intentions. 
 
 I shall not go through the whole detail of the 
 landing of this armament at the different points 
 selected for that purpose, but I shall offer a short 
 sketch of the general operations which followed. 
 
 Whatever might have been the instructions given 
 by the First Consul to Le Clerc, the latter did not 
 appear the least disposed to try the effect of nego- 
 
CHAP, v.] Oil SAINT DOMINGO. 135 
 
 tiation before he displayed some intentions of hosti- 
 lity, for General Rochambeau, who landed in the 
 neighbourhood of Fort Dauphin, formed his troops 
 on the beach, and the negroes, who had been led 
 by the proclamation of their governor-general to 
 believe that they had landed as friends, ran in 
 crowds to witness the disembarkation, and with the 
 most friendly demonstrations welcomed their arrival. 
 But Rochambeau, most dastardly and inhumanly, 
 without the slightest intimation of what was to fol- 
 low, charged them at the point of the bayonet, when 
 a great many were slaughtered, and the rest with 
 difficulty fled to places of protection, leaving the 
 fort in possession of the French. This took place 
 on the 2d of February, two days before the arrival of 
 the commander-in-chief in the harbour of Cape 
 Francois, and as the account of it soon reached the 
 city. General Christophe, who commanded there, 
 was enabled to prepare for its defence, and at once 
 discovered, that instead of coming as friends, this 
 force had arrived for the purpose of subjugation. 
 
 By this premature commencement at Fort Dau- 
 phin, Le Clerc was foiled in his design of taking 
 the black general by surprise, or in playing off any 
 of those stratagems and intrigues so characteristic 
 of a Frenchman. From the intelligence which he 
 had received of the movements of Rochambeau, 
 Christophe was instantly on the qui vive. Wary 
 and watchful, he disposed of his men judiciously, 
 
136 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 strengthening the most vulnerable points, and en- 
 couraging his troops to meet every attack with 
 courage and fortitude, setting to them an example 
 of confidence in their own power, which animated 
 them to the most surprising efforts. He also inti- 
 mated to the inhabitants of the city, that their lives 
 would be inevitably held as a security for the hos- 
 tile proceedings of the French armament, and that 
 he would never surrender the place so long as a 
 single habitation remained standing. This threat 
 of the negro general produced the most apalling 
 sensations, because they were aware of the inten- 
 tions of the French being hostile, and they were 
 also sensible, that there would be no abatement of 
 the dreadful denunciation of the black commander. 
 To avert the dreadful alternative, a select body of 
 the inhabitants, headed by the municipal autho- 
 rities, were deputed to wait upon the French com- 
 mander-in-chief, and to implore him to desist from 
 hostile operations, until such time as their safety 
 could be provided for, as it was the determination 
 of Christophe to sacrifice them, and to destroy the 
 city, should any attack proceed from the French 
 force. Le Clerc gave them no assurances that he 
 would desist from offensive measures ; he received 
 them, however, courteously, and advised them to 
 return to the city, and take with them the proclama- 
 tion which he was about to issue, and give it every 
 publicity in their power. He also told them in the 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 137 
 
 most specious way, that the object of his force was 
 not the restoration of slavery, but the preservation 
 of the colony in obedience to the consular govern- 
 ment of France, without in any way interfering 
 with or infringing upon the rights of the people, as 
 now admitted; but rather to fix those rights on a 
 more permanent basis, and to secure them against 
 innovation. To such flattering communications the 
 deputation listened with easy credulity, and re- 
 turned to the city buoyed up with the delusive hope 
 that their lives and properties would be protected, 
 and that the lamentable catastrophe resulting from 
 retaliatory measures would be effectually averted. 
 
 The proclamation of Bonaparte, couched in his 
 usual ambiguous style, was intended no doubt to de- 
 ceive the negro population by confirming their rights 
 to be free and equal, whilst at the same time the real 
 object of the expedition was the restoration of slavery, 
 and the restitution of the colony to its condition 
 previously to the revolution. Having pledged how- 
 ever his faith to the negroes, that they should en- 
 joy that freedom which had been conferred upon 
 them, they were at the same time told, that in the 
 event of their rejection of the terms which the 
 commander-in-chief was empowered to offer, vio- 
 lence would be resorted to, and the pledge with- 
 drawn. It may not be improper to insert a trans- 
 lation of this proclamation, which will thus speak 
 for itself — 
 
138 PRESEXT STATE OF IIAYTI, [ciIAP. V. 
 
 "INHABITANTS OF SAINT DOMINGO! 
 
 '' Whatever your origin or your colour, you are all 
 French ; you are all free, and all equal before God, 
 and before the republic. 
 
 " France, like St. Domingo, has been a prey to 
 factions, torn by civil commotions and by foreign 
 wars. But all has changed, all nations have em- 
 braced the French, and have sworn to them peace 
 and amity ; the French people too, have embraced 
 each other, and have sworn to be all friends and 
 brothers. Come also, embrace the French, and 
 rejoice to see again your friends and brothers of 
 Europe. 
 
 " The government sends you Captain-General 
 Le Clerc ; he brings with him numerous forces for 
 protecting you against your enemies, and against 
 the enemies of the republic. If it be said to you, 
 these forces are destined to ravish from you your 
 liberty, answer, the republic will not suffer it to be 
 taken from us. 
 
 " Rally round the Captain-General; he brings 
 you peace and plenty. Rally all of you around 
 him. Whoever shall dare to separate himself from 
 the Captain-General will be a traitor to his country, 
 and the indignation of the republic will devour 
 him, as the fire devours your dried canes. 
 
 " Done at Paris, &c. 
 " (Signed) The First Consul, Bonaparte. 
 
 " The Secretary of State, H. B. Mahet.'' 
 
CHAP. V.J Oil SAINT DOMINGO. 139 
 
 Such a document as the preceding, promulgated 
 too at a moment when an extraordinary panic had 
 arisen from the extent of the French force, about 
 to commence its operations simultaneously from 
 several points, was not likely to pass without making 
 a very deep impression on those whose minds were 
 vacillating and unfixed, and who had refrained from 
 declaring themselves until they were informed as 
 to the views of the French government with re- 
 gard to the future administration of the colony, in 
 the event of their being successful. This procla- 
 mation was received by the wavering among the 
 negro population as one of great sincerity, assuring 
 them that they had nothing to apprehend about 
 their being again destined for slavery. Many there- 
 fore embraced the offers which it held out, and 
 joined the standard of the invaders, and Le Clerc, 
 anticipating further submissions before Toussaint 
 arrived, determined on the commencement of active 
 measures so soon as he should be informed that 
 llochambeau, having effected a successful landing, 
 was advancing upon the city. He did not how- 
 ever land his forces till he had tried the effect of 
 an epistolary communication with General Chris- 
 tophe, the commander at the Cape, in which in the 
 true Gascon style of invective and threat, Le Clerc 
 informs that individual, that unless he immediately 
 accedes to the landing of his forces, he will " hold 
 him (Christophc) responsible for what may happen.'" 
 
140 TRESEXT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. V. 
 
 Christoplie was not to be entrapped. Firm, in- 
 flexible, and determined in his conduct, he returned 
 an answer to the French comnander couched in 
 language which could bear but one interpretation, 
 that he would make every possible resistance to the 
 French arms, and that they should not enter " Cape 
 Town until it was reduced to ashes." " Nay," says 
 he, " even in the ruins I will renew the combat." 
 Again he says, " How can you hold me responsible 
 for the event ? you are not my chief. I know you 
 not ; and can therefore take no account of you, till 
 you are acknowledged by Governor Toussaint." 
 
 Immediately after this correspondence had taken 
 place, Le Clerc made preparations for landing, which 
 he effected promptly in the neighbourhood of Da 
 Limbe and the Bay of Acul, no great distance to the 
 westward of the city. Le Clerc's object seems to have 
 been to gain the heights round the Cape, before the 
 negroes could effectually carry their threat of de- 
 vastation by fire and sword into execution. These 
 movements were anticipated by the negro general, 
 Avho therefore prepared to intercept them. Know- 
 ing that the white inhabitants were wavering and 
 faithless, and that he could not confide in them 
 were he to permit their neutrality, and being fully 
 aware that many mulattoes, arid even negroes, were 
 secretly inclined towards the French, he without 
 hesitation commenced the work of conflagration, 
 which he had previously given them to understand 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 141 
 
 would be done the moment the French set their foot 
 on shore in an hostile manner. The order being 
 given, was obeyed with alacrity, and both Le Clerc 
 and Admiral Villaret, when they came within sight 
 of the city saw the devastation which was likely to 
 ensue. The French commanders made great efforts 
 to save the town, and the crews of the ships were 
 landed for that purpose, but they were only able to 
 save a few buildings from the destructive element. 
 
 The part of Christophe's threat most dreaded 
 was the massacre of the inhabitants of the city, but 
 to his credit be it said, he did not put it in execu- 
 tion. True no doubt it is that he carried off a great 
 many whom he intended to hold as hostages for the 
 conduct of the French ; but it is not recorded that 
 he treated them with any barbarity, or that he exe- 
 cuted any of them. After this the negro general 
 retreated with his forces, and took up a strong posi- 
 tion imtil he was joined by the Governor-General 
 Toussaint. 
 
 Having arrived a short time after the fall of the 
 Cape, and having previously issued orders to all 
 his subordinate generals to prepare for the most 
 active defence against the French arms, Toussaint 
 personally inspected every post, and minutely sur- 
 veyed every position in which it was practicable to 
 make a successful stand against his opponents. 
 
 It was at this time, and whilst he was at his seat 
 at Ennery, about thirty miles from the Cape, that 
 
142 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 liis two sons were presented to him to try how far 
 another attempt at fraud, sophistry, and hypocrisy 
 might succeed. I shall not attempt to go through the 
 whole detail of the scenes which took place between 
 the wily tutor Coisnon, the affectionate children, the 
 fond father, and the tender mother ; let it suffice, 
 however, to state that they failed of their wonted 
 success, for Toussaint was inflexible. I cannot resist 
 the temptation of quoting a passage from a writer, 
 who describes the tender interview which took place 
 between them. " The two sons ran to meet their 
 father, and he with emotions too big for utterance, 
 clasped them silently in his arms. Few it is to be 
 hoped are the partakers of our common nature, who, 
 on witnessing the embraces and tears of parental 
 and filial sensibility, could have proceeded at least 
 without powerful relentings of heart, to execute the 
 commission with which Coisnon was charged." 
 
 But this cold-blooded emissary of France beheld 
 the scene with a barbarous apathy, worthy of the 
 cause in which he was employed. When the first 
 burst of paternal feeling was over, Toussaint 
 stretched out his arms to him, whom he regarded 
 with complacency as the tutor of his children, 
 and their conductor to the roof and embraces of 
 their parents. This was the moment which Coisnon 
 thought most favourable to the perpetration of his 
 treacherous design. " The father and the two sons'', 
 says he, " threw themselves into each other's arms. 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMTN^GO. 143 
 
 I saw tliem shed tears, and wishing to take advan- 
 tage of a period which I conceived to be favourable, 
 I stopped him at the moment when he stretched 
 out his arms to me."" 
 
 The crafty and unfeeling Coisnon thought that 
 the most favourable moment had arrived for opening 
 the business of his mission, and without delay en- 
 tered upon it by addressing the chief, and implor- 
 ing him to reflect upon the consequences that would 
 inevitably result from any hostile measures against 
 the power of Bonaparte, as any resistance to so power- 
 ful a force, composed of troops that had always been 
 elated with victory, must prove unavailing. On the 
 other hand, he pledged the sincerity with which his 
 master was actuated, spoke of the admiration which 
 Toussainf s conduct had excited, and of the distin- 
 guished valour and judgment which he had displayed 
 in the multifarious operations of the war. He also 
 held out to him the most attractive, yet delusive, 
 promises of what would ensue from his joining the 
 French standard, and the vengeance that would 
 doubtless accompany any act of hostility; and, 
 finally, he handed to the negro chief the letter, of 
 which he was the bearer, written by Bonaparte in his 
 own hand, and teeming with expressions which might 
 have moved the resolution of more determined men 
 than Toussaint. But that cautious, unbending, and 
 inflexible man was on his guard against the snare 
 that was laid to entrap him, and the cunning tutor 
 
144 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. V. 
 
 was necessitated to try tlie effect of a more powerful 
 agency, the intercession of his children and the en- 
 treaties of his wife. Bonaparte, in his letter to the 
 chief, tries what effect an allusion to the former will 
 have. " We have made known to your children, 
 and to their preceptor," he says, "the sentiments by 
 which we are animated. We send them back to you. 
 Assist with your counsel, your influence, and your 
 talents, the captain-general. What can you desire ? 
 The freedom of the blacks ? You know that in all 
 the countries we have been in, we have given it to 
 the people who had it not. Do you desire consider- 
 ation, honours, fortune ? It is not after the services 
 you have rendered, the services you can still render, 
 and with the personal estimation we have for yoic, 
 that you ought to he doubtful with respect to your 
 consideration, your fortune, and the honours that 
 await you.'''' Such an appeal might have had some 
 influence and power over a vain man, and the feel- 
 ings of the father might have been softened when the 
 eloquence of the preceptor pleaded in behalf of the 
 children, whose lives would be the forfeit of the non- 
 compliance of the parent. But this would not do, 
 nor would the subsequent artless appeal of the tu- 
 tored children, aided by the faithful mother, from 
 whose tears the savage Coisnon prematurely looked 
 for success. All were unavailing, and Toussaint, 
 after having composed himself, and assumed an ap- 
 pearance of ease and confidence, took the preceptor 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 145 
 
 by the hand ; then directing the others to retire, he 
 said to him, with a stern and dignified manner, 
 " Take back my children, since it must be so. I 
 ■will be faithful to my brethren and my God." 
 
 Notwithstanding the failure of Coisnon's mission, 
 a truce was agreed upon for a few days, for the 
 purpose of carrying on a correspondence between 
 Le Clerc and Toussaint, to try if the horrors of 
 war might not be averted by mutual concessions. 
 Le Clerc anticipated a favourable result, but 
 Toussainfs reply contained no augury of his sub- 
 mission to the will of the chief consul. The truce, 
 therefore, being at an end, each of the chiefs pre- 
 pared for active operations, and Toussaint and Chris- 
 tophe were declared to be enemies of the French 
 republic, and all persons were called upon to seize 
 them. 
 
 Every art and every stratagem was now de\dsed 
 by Le Clerc, which might entice over the negroes 
 to his cause ; and he therefore first held out assur- 
 ances to their officers of rank and preferment in the 
 French army, and to the negroes themselves he gave 
 the most solemn promise that their freedom should 
 be respected and preserved inviolate. Another cir- 
 cumstance also, which very materially contributed to 
 the successes which Le Clerc gained, was, that the 
 cultivators throughout the colony had had enough of 
 war, and had determined to remain neutral in the 
 pending struggle, so long as their properties were 
 
 L 
 
14G niESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. V. 
 
 insured to them, and their remaining inactive was 
 permitted. Consequently, Le Clerc having nothing 
 to apprehend from them, was at hberty to turn the 
 whole of his attention against the organized forces of 
 the negro chiefs ; and, to oppose these, required no 
 little skill and manoeuvre, from the great obstacles 
 which the face of the country presented to European 
 forces, inured only to a systematic mode of fighting, 
 whilst the negro soldiers were thoroughly instructed 
 in skirmishing, bush fighting, and every other irre- 
 gular mode of warfare. For such operations as these, 
 they were in the highest possible order, both as to 
 discipline and equipments. They knew well how to 
 manage their artillery, were quick in firing, and no 
 bad marksmen. All their movements were effected 
 with amazing rapidity, and from one point of com- 
 munication to another they flew with the greatest 
 celerity. The French seemed astonished at the 
 quickness with which they performed their move- 
 ments, and at times when they thought victory cer- 
 tain, found themselves unexpectedly opposed to a 
 body, who made the most desperate attack upon them, 
 and forced them to retire completely discomfited. 
 They also had another advantage over the European 
 troops; neither the scorching heat of the sun, nor 
 the pernicious influence of the night air, had any 
 injurious effects upon them, whilst the French were 
 suffering severely from the evil consequences of both. 
 Although one day they might have sustained a de- 
 
CHA?. V.J OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 147 
 
 feat, still, on the next, the negro soldiers appeared 
 in force before their enemy, prepared to renew the 
 combat. Not so with the French; for the severity 
 of the duties of the field was insupportable, and on 
 many occasions, when they had gained advantages, 
 their fatigue was so great that they were unable to 
 follow them up, and thereby throw their opponents 
 into disorder and confusion. 
 
 The principal exertions of the French troops com- 
 menced in the plains of the north, just after the 
 truce had expired, and about the 20th of February, 
 by an attack on Plaisance, which place having sur- 
 rendered, the black commander and his soldiers, 
 consisting of five hundred infantry and cavalry, 
 joined the French standard. Marmalade followed, 
 having been defended a short time by Christophe, 
 who was at last obliged to retreat, in consequence of 
 the treachery of one of his officers who had surren- 
 dered an important position on his line, and had fol- 
 lowed the example of the commander at Plaisance. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Port Paix, the French 
 troops, under Humbert, sustained a check ; and on 
 the 20th of February the troops under General De- 
 belle were obliged to retire, after having sustained 
 some loss. 
 
 The division of General Boudet having landed at 
 Port au Prince, left that city, and proceeded against 
 La Croix des Bouquets, where the celebrated Dessa- 
 lines had taken up a position ; but on the approach 
 
 l2 
 
148 TRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 of the French force he set fire to the place, and the 
 next day, by a most extraordinary and rapid move- 
 ment across the mountains, appeared before Leo- 
 gane, to which place he also set fire, notwithstanding 
 the resistance offered by a French frigate which lay 
 in sight, and which had been sent thither to insure 
 its safety. The movements of this chief were the 
 most surprising ; one day he was found in the plains 
 of the Cul de Sac, acting with the most determined 
 bravery, and committing dreadful ravages in the 
 face of the French army; and the next, he was found 
 in the plains of Leogane committing similar excesses, 
 avoiding, in both, coming in contact with the enemy 
 in the open field. Bush fighting, and setting fire to 
 the plantations, to impede the advance of the enemy 
 and destroy their provisions, was his only aim, and 
 in this he seems to have been unusually fortunate 
 and successful. 
 
 One of the black chiefs. La Plume, who had re- 
 treated before Generals Desfourneaux and Hardy 
 from the vicinity of Plaisance, surrendered, with all 
 his troops, to General Boudet, which compensated 
 for the losses which the French had sustained, and 
 was a serious, if not a fatal, blow to the negro cause. 
 
 On the 24th of February, General Rochambeau 
 fell in with Toussaint, who had under him about 
 three thousand men, and had taken up a strong posi- 
 tion in the Ravine a Couleuvre. The attack was com- 
 menced by Rochambeau, and met with great skill 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 149 
 
 and courage by the negro general and his troops, 
 and a most sanguinary conflict ensued. The blacks 
 fought with the most determined bravery, and the 
 French made the greatest efforts to exceed them; 
 and at last, after having lost eight hundred of his 
 men, who were left dead in the field, Toussaint 
 thought it prudent to retreat, and take up his posi- 
 tion on the banks of La Petite Riviere. There could 
 not have been more military skill shewn than was dis- 
 played by the respective commanders in this battle. 
 The slaughter was immense, and the loss of the 
 French, it was conjectured, exceeded that of the 
 negroes; but the latter had no public journals to an- 
 nounce their triumphs, whilst the former had the 
 benefit of gazettes and proclamations to extol their 
 successes, and to magnify the disasters of their oppo- 
 nents. It is certain that after the action Rocham- 
 beau could not advance, and the black general was 
 in some measure justified in claiming the victory, as 
 well as some merit for taking up another position, 
 particularly as Le Clerc was advancing to cut him 
 off with a large force ; and which seems true enough, 
 for he took up a line in the vicinity of Gonaives, 
 with his advance upon the road of St. Marc. 
 
 Whatever opinion is entertained of the result of 
 the battle, its consequences were certainly injurious 
 to his cause; his retreat was demonstrative of dis- 
 comfitiure, and such a feeling existed among his 
 troops, as well as among those of his other divisions. 
 
150 PllESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 Under the influence of this feeling, and the allure- 
 ments of the French generals, who held out the most 
 engaging promises, desertions became frequent, and 
 in one instance the conduct of the black general 
 Maurepas, who commanded the district of St. Marc, 
 and who, at the moment that Le Clerc was engaged 
 in making preparations to compel him to retire from 
 it, surrendered with his force, consisting of two thou- 
 sand men, proved quite decisive of the fate of the 
 contest. 
 
 Dechning to enter into a further detail of the 
 operations in the field, as they consisted chiefly of' 
 irregular warfare, and presented nothing of import- 
 ance, I shall merely make a few observations on the 
 conduct of the respective chiefs who commanded, 
 and their measures to defeat each other's design. 
 
 I think it must be admitted to be indisputable 
 that the greatest success was in favour of the French, 
 and that although some partial advantages were 
 gained by the blacks, yet they seemed to have no 
 ultimate chance of prolonging the contest. It is 
 true that Toussaint, Christophe, and Dessalines 
 held strong positions, and that it would take a con- 
 siderable time to dislodge them, as well as cause a 
 great sacrifice of human lives. Le Clerc therefore 
 resorted to every device likely to gain over the 
 black troops, and the most successful one was, his 
 promotion of many of those who had previously 
 joined him, and the practice of an unusual degree of 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 151 
 
 mildness towards the remainder, by which he so 
 much exalted himself in the estimation of the whole, 
 that the negroes undertook to allure their brethren 
 to their standard, holding out to them advantages 
 similar to those which they had themselves gained. 
 This stratagem succeeding in a very extensive de- 
 gree, he was joined by a great number of the troops 
 of the black chiefs, and a great many laid down their 
 arms, so that in a short period Toussaint was left 
 with scarcely any adherents, except those few plant- 
 ers who suspected the designs of the French, and 
 correctly dived into the intentions of the French 
 general. These remained firm to him for a time, 
 but when one reverse was followed up by another, 
 and when there was not a visible chance of any fur- 
 ther efforts being likely to succeed, and when his 
 retirement seemed inevitable, most of these deserted 
 him, and made their submission to the French com- 
 mander, leaving Toussaint to contend against a 
 variety of difficulties, and to surmount obstacles 
 sufficient to have reduced the proudest and noblest 
 spirit to a state of the greatest despair. But even 
 at this trying period Toussaint*s fortitude never 
 forsook him. He foresaw that his enemy before 
 long would find that they had to contend with 
 greater obstacles than any which his resistance could 
 present; nor was he mistaken; for in a short time, 
 Le Clerc, elated by his successful movements, 
 began to developc the designs with which he was 
 
152 rHESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 instriictecl, and thinking that he had completely 
 discomfited the whole of the forces of the black 
 generals, or, at all events, that he had so dispersed 
 their followers that they could not again appear 
 before him, he set about executing the great object of 
 the expedition — that of restoring the planters who 
 had accompanied him to their hereditary estates, 
 and of placing the negroes once more under their 
 control, reviving their ancient property in them, and 
 pledging the French government to resist all future 
 attempts that might be made to disturb them. 
 
 It is impossible to portray the indignation which 
 this impolitic and base act of Le Clerc so uni- 
 versally excited. The very planters themselves, 
 apprehensive of the consequences which so unwise 
 and so hasty a proceeding was likely to produce, 
 declined to avail themselves of an offer, the imprac- 
 ticability of enforcing which seemed to them to be 
 certain. They were convinced that no good could 
 result from it; but circumstances of the most pain- 
 ful and dangerous nature were more likely to arise, 
 were the general to attempt putting his plans into 
 execution. 
 
 The poor deluded and credulous cultivators, who 
 had been allured by the promises of their enemy, 
 now saw their error, and without a moment's delay 
 began to consult their own safety, to devise means to 
 evade the orders of the French commander, and join 
 their brethren who still adhered to the negro gene- 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 153 
 
 ral; and finally to aid in defeating such outrageous 
 proceedings by the most energetic and the most ef- 
 fectual plan which they had the means of concert- 
 ing. 
 
 Such of the negro troops, also, as had joined the 
 French under the perfidious pledges of the command- 
 er-in-chief, began to feel considerable anxiety lest 
 they should be forced to share the fate which seemed 
 to impend over their black bretlu'en in general. To 
 revolt, however, appeared almost impossible ; they 
 were not concentrated at any one point, but seemed 
 to have been placed in small detached bodies, and 
 were so completely under the control and surveil- 
 lance of the French that desertion was difficult, and 
 in most instances not to be effected without detec- 
 tion, when they were subjected to the most cruel 
 punishment. 
 
 Toussaint now saw that his predictions were rea- 
 lized, and that the time had arrived when the scale 
 of success would turn in his favour, and with that 
 promptitude which accompanied all his resolutions 
 and all his plans of operations, he seized the favour- 
 able moment, and with the most extraordinary cele- 
 rity formed a junction with Christophe, when they 
 proceeded towards the north, calling upon the culti- 
 vators on their Avay to join their cause, and to revenge 
 the base and unprecedented conduct of the French 
 general. From all quarters the cultivators flocked 
 to their standard, and in a few days their force 
 
154 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 became somewhat imposing; and although they 
 were armed with such weapons only as could have 
 been found on the plantations, and had but a short 
 supply of musquetry, still they moved on by forced 
 marches with the most surprising rapidity, driving 
 their enemy from one post to another, without 
 meeting with the least opposition, until they ap- 
 peared^efore Cape Fran9ois, which being defended 
 by a strong force, and covered by the fleet in the 
 harbour, was saved from the fate which awaited it. 
 Le Clerc, now shut up in the besieged city of 
 Cape Francois, was reduced to the greatest extre- 
 mities, and he began to devise means for evacuat- 
 ing the place, and taking up some position within the 
 Spanish territory ; but a strong reinforcement which 
 arrived from France somewhat revived his hopes, 
 although he knew further offensive measures would 
 not be advisable. The city too, from the number 
 of people within its walls, began to exhibit symp- 
 toms of a pestilential nature, and the alarm became 
 most distressing ; inhabitants and troops alike be- 
 came martyrs to its ravages, and every thing indi- 
 cated the most wretched termination of the siege. 
 Beginning therefore to feel the evil consequences of 
 his premature and precipitant as well as nefarious 
 conduct, he began to consult with his officers upon 
 some plan which might have the effect of putting a 
 stop to the further prosecution of the impending 
 struggle : he saw the error he had committed, and 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAIXT DOMINGO. 155 
 
 it was necessary that he should recover the position 
 he held, before he gave his ill-advised and per- 
 fidious orders for the reestablishment of slavery. 
 To accomplish this, the captain-general had re- 
 course again to cunning and delusion, and to every 
 species of trick and artifice which his inventive mind 
 could suggest : but it was a work of no ordinary 
 difficulty to restore confidence, and impress the 
 simple cultivators with an idea of sincerity, after 
 having been guilty of the most atrocious acts of 
 treachery and deceit. Something, however, it was 
 imperative to try, and the usual measure of procla- 
 mation was immediately decided upon as likely to 
 produce the desired effect. 
 
 This proclamation contains the old specious de- 
 claration of " Liberty and Equality to all the 
 inhabitants of Saint Domingo, without regard to 
 colour,'" and the most abject apology for his con- 
 duct in the late contest, with an assurance that his 
 future intentions were of the most friendly kind, and 
 that he ardently desired to reconcile conflicting 
 opinions, appease internal discord, restore peace 
 to all classes of people, and place the colony in 
 the most flourishing and prosperous condition. In 
 this proclamation a great deal was also said about 
 a constitution that should be acceptable to the peo- 
 ple, the basis of which was the old term '^ Liberty 
 and Equality,^' providing however, it appears, for the 
 
15G PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. V. 
 
 acceptation of it by the French government, as a 
 measure of precaution. 
 
 It may easily be conjectured that such submis- 
 sive expressions of regard and sohcitude for the 
 people would be likely to accomplish theFrenchman''s 
 purpose, and that the negro population, in their 
 rude state of ignorance, would not be able to dis- 
 cover or penetrate into the designs at which he 
 aimed. That this was the case with the proclamation 
 of the captain-general, is most evident, for that class 
 of the people, on its being declared to them by the 
 emissaries of the French that the reestablishment 
 of slavery was not contemplated, and that the 
 French governm.ent merely aimed at the sovereignty 
 over the island, became clamourous for arrange- 
 ments, whilst the cultivators who had encountered 
 much fatigue and inconvenience, and who had been 
 deprived of those comforts which peace and repose 
 presented, were equally anxious for some under- 
 standing by which a further prosecution of the war 
 would be avoided. All classes seemed to concur in 
 one point, that the only object for which contention 
 and resistance to the French was justifiable, was the 
 preservation of that liberty which the represent- 
 atives of the French government declared to them 
 in 1793, and which declaration had been confirmed 
 by the national assembly of France. 
 
 This proclamation, issued by Le Clcrc on the 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. l5^ 
 
 25th of April, 1802, confirming, as they conceived, 
 their liberty, they did not consider that there 
 remained further cause for a continuation of the 
 struggle, for the question of sovereignty was not 
 one which gave them any concern. 
 
 To the wishes of the great body of the people 
 Toussaint reluctantly submitted, and Dessalines 
 gave his decided opinion that no negotiations should 
 be entered into, except for the purpose of receiving 
 a proposal for the evacuation of the colony by the 
 French forces. Both these chiefs doubted the sin- 
 cerity of the French general, and believed that his 
 propositions were only intended to cover more 
 vigorous efforts to crush them hereafter. In the 
 mean time Christophe found it prudent, from some 
 symptoms of defection among his troops, to open a 
 negotiation with Le Clerc, and officers were appoint- 
 ed for that purpose, when the former demanded a 
 general amnesty and preservation of his own rank 
 and property, as well as that of all his compatriots : 
 the same to extend also to Toussaint and Dessalines. 
 To this Le Clerc, after some deliberation, but with 
 no good will, acceded, and the arrangements were 
 accordingly concluded. 
 
 Toussaint and Dessalines, after having reflected 
 for a short time on their respective situations, and 
 standing almost alone against the prevailing wish 
 of the people, consented to the terms which had 
 been granted to Christophe as a matter both of ex- 
 
158 TRESEXT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. V. 
 
 perimcnt and expediency, and thus for the present 
 ended the contest, which for the extent of it may 
 have been justly described as the most cruel and 
 sanguinary in the annals of warfare. By this peace 
 the island of St. Domingo is admitted to be under 
 the sovereignty of France. 
 
 The peace being concluded, the cultivators and 
 proprietors returned to their homes, and recom- 
 menced their labours in the soil, in the pleasing 
 hope of being permitted to remain in the bosom of 
 their families, enjoying all those comforts of which 
 the horrors of war had so long denied them. The 
 three negro chiefs, Toussaint, Dessalines, and Chris- 
 tophe retired to their respective plantations, after 
 having been assured by Le Clerc, with every mark 
 of sincerity, that their persons and property should 
 be held sacred^ and that instructions should be 
 transmitted to them, upon which they were to act 
 in their future military commands. In their retreat, 
 however, it appears that Dessalines and Christophe 
 were far from feeling confident of their own safety ; 
 they consequently did not slumber in their retire- 
 ment; and being greatly apprehensive of the con- 
 sequences of the experiment into which they had 
 been led, they waited, with no little anxiety, the 
 result of it. 
 
 Credulous, and relying on the captain-generaPs 
 honour, from the confidence which he had inspired, 
 Toussaint thought of little but the enjoyment of 
 
CHAP, v.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 159 
 
 repose in the bosom of his family. At his estate 
 in the vicinity of Gonaives, he took up his abode, 
 surrounded by his faithful wife and endearing chil- 
 dren (with the exception of his two sons who had 
 been detained as hostages, and of whose fate no 
 intelligence was ever received), there to indulge in 
 the sweets of domestic life, after the toils and the 
 cares of a protracted civil* war, in which he had 
 borne the most conspicuous part, and shared in all 
 its extraordinary vicissitudes and all its heart- 
 rending scenes of death and destruction. But his 
 retirement was invaded — the snare was laid for him 
 by the perfidious Le Clerc, and in the moment of 
 sleep, unconscious and unsuspecting, he was sur- 
 rounded by some troops sent for the purpose, torn 
 from his bed in the dead of night, torn from his 
 faithful wife and beloved children, and hurried on 
 board a frigate, there to remain until preparations 
 were made for sending him to France. It was useless 
 and unavailing to make any resistance, or to exclaim 
 against such treachery and inhumanity : he sub- 
 mitted to his fate, and left it to his countrymen to 
 avenge his wrongs. He only asked for the pro- 
 tection and security of his family, but they be- 
 came also the objects of suspicion, and were sub- 
 sequently hurried on board the same vessel with 
 their father. They were all sent to France, and 
 their tragical end became the subject of general 
 horror and indignation throughout Europe. Le 
 
160 PHESENT STATE OF ITAYTT, ETC. [cHAP. V. 
 
 Clcrc, to soften the barbarity and atrocity of this 
 act, gave it out that Toussaint was plotting against 
 the French, and was aiming, in conjunction with his 
 other officers, to seize the first unguarded moment 
 in which they might be caught, to break the peace, 
 and to renew the combat with redoubled vigour and 
 determination. 
 
 Thus terminated the career of Toussaint. His 
 end will ever blacken the pages of French his- 
 tory, and leave such a stain on the character of its 
 government that no lapse of time can efface. His- 
 tory cannot produce a more base and unjustifiable 
 act of violence ; and it is to be hoped, for the sake 
 of humanity, its perpetrators will meet with that 
 just execration which so much perfidy and treachery 
 deserves. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The period from the seizure of Toiissaint to the final 
 expulsion of the French, by Dessalines, in 1803. — State 
 of cultivation. — Commerce declined — and observations 
 on the population. — Its extent. 
 
 The dispute between the people of the island and 
 the French had now assumed a different character, 
 for it could no longer be designated a contest be- 
 tween the revolted slaves of a colony and their 
 government, but a civil war, originating in an at- 
 tempt of oppression on the part of that government, 
 over those inhabitants whom it had thought proper 
 to declare to be, " free and equal before God, and 
 before the republic.""' A conflict, I say, emanating 
 from the basest act of duplicity, and from the most 
 unexampled breach of faith and confidence that has 
 been heard of in modern times ; a conflict which, in 
 the sequel, proved the destruction of its authors, and 
 the expulsion of the French from all property in St. 
 Domingo. Our minds must be totally divested of 
 all those impressions which the rebellion of the slaves 
 at first created; and we must view the future opera- 
 tions of the contending parties abstractedly, and not 
 as having any connexion with past events. 
 
 M 
 
162 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. VI. 
 
 Whatever might have been the instructions given 
 to the captain-general Le Clerc by his master, that 
 officer seems to have acted with a degree of precipi- 
 tancy that must be condemned. Had the French 
 ruler been ever so confident in the success of an en- 
 terprise as the one in which he had engaged, as a 
 soldier and as a general who had commanded in a 
 series of campaigns, he must have left something 
 to the discretion of the officer whom he had ap- 
 pointed to conduct it, and not have insisted on an 
 implicit obedience to instructions that could only 
 have been given from a vague knowledge of the scene 
 on which such enterprise was to be carried into effect. 
 The success of most oiFensive operations depends in 
 a great measure on the local information which a com- 
 manding officer acquires on his arrival at the point 
 at which such operations are to commence ; and a 
 great deal, therefore, must, I imagine, be left to his 
 judgment and discretion, without fettering him with 
 instructions from which he cannot deviate, however 
 injudicious and inefficient they may become, from the 
 local obstacles with which he has to contend. Bona- 
 parte himself, I believe, never acted but as circum- 
 stances pointed out, paying but little attention to the 
 directions which, from time to time, he received from 
 the executive government of France. I think it, 
 therefore, not unfair to draw from this the inference 
 that, on sending out his brother-in-law^ Le Clerc, to 
 
CHAP. VI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 163 
 
 command the expedition to St. Domingo, he vested 
 in him the power to act as circumstances might 
 require, and as prudence and discretion might 
 dictate. 
 
 After the outrage which he committed on the 
 unfortunate Toussaint and his family, the captain- 
 general began to deliberate on the organization of a 
 new form of government, and about the end of June, 
 1802, he issued his regulations for that purpose; 
 but he had forgotten that the treacherous conduct, 
 of which he had so recently been guilty, remained 
 unrevenged, and that the people would not submit 
 to it with impunity, but resort to measures of re- 
 taliation until they had satiated themselves for the 
 atrocious deed. These regulations had certainly 
 nothing in them new; they were merely those of 
 Toussaint, re-modelled as it were, but they were 
 prematurely issued, for they only tended to inflame 
 the more, and to hasten that crisis which began to 
 threaten the French cause in the colony. 
 
 No sooner was the cruel seizure of Toussaint 
 known, than Dessalines, Christophe, and Clerveaux 
 flew to arms, collected their scattered forces, called 
 the cultivators and others to join their standard, to 
 revenge the outrage committed on their chief, and 
 to defend themselves against the designs of the 
 French general. In a few days, they found them- 
 selves at the head of a large body of troops, armed 
 and well equipped, and determined on a most despe- 
 
 M 2 
 
164 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VI, 
 
 rate struggle for liberty, and either to expel the 
 French or perish in the attempt. The French 
 troops, on the other hand, were hourly diminishing 
 by various diseases incident to the climate. The 
 officers were dying daily, and others sunk into an 
 irrecoverable despondency; and a disaffected spirit 
 had manifested itself amongst them, through which 
 not only the privates and subaltern officers deserted 
 their standards, but even generals followed the ex- 
 ample. The scenes of carnage and destruction 
 which took place are said to have shocked humanity, 
 and the atrocities of the French exceeded so much 
 the executions of their black opponents, that the 
 latter seem to have entitled themselves to the cha- 
 racter of being merciful when compared with the 
 tortures inflicted by the former. 
 
 The circumstance of the introduction of blood- 
 hounds I have heard spoken of by some who were 
 engaged in the war, and they have all declared that 
 many of the statements of the cruelties said to have 
 been committed by them were unfounded. They were 
 brought it is true, but the blacks were prepared for 
 them ; and althovigh in some instances in which they 
 were tried they tore some persons, and absolutely 
 devoured a child or two, yet they were found to be 
 ineffectual for the object for which they were in- 
 tended, as they were shot in great numbers, so that 
 at last they had but few to use, and those which were 
 left were rendered useless, from the negroes having 
 
GHAP. VI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 165 
 
 been always prepared to meet them. I do not mean 
 by this that it at all lessened the enormity of such an 
 act, on the part of the French, because it was not 
 successful ; on the contrary, the ferocity of it stands 
 unmitigated^ although it proved abortive. 
 
 In the plains of the Cape, and in the city, the 
 massacres by the French were beyond the powers of 
 description ; and the least that can be said of the 
 conduct of the agents of the French government is, 
 that they must have been bereft of all feelings of 
 humanity, that they were of the worst and most de- 
 based of the dregs of the French people, and un- 
 worthy to become the associates of even the untutored 
 savage. The latter may plead nature for his savage 
 propensities, but the former has nothing to offer to 
 lessen the magnitude of his crimes, or to efface the 
 recollection of his imheard-of cruelties. 
 
 Whilst these scenes of carnage and destruction 
 were at their height, the French w^ere daily losing 
 their positions, and their force was constantly dimin- 
 ishing from the effects of the pestilence which raged 
 through the whole army. The general-in-chief, who 
 had for some time been in an impaired state of 
 health, began visibly to sink under the ravages of 
 disease, and on the 1st of November he breathed 
 his last, leaving in the memory of his opponents a 
 name blackened by the worst of crimes, unatoned for 
 by one single virtue. 
 
 The command of the army now devolved on Gene- 
 
166 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. VI. 
 
 ral Rocliambeau, who, to say the least of him, was 
 a worthy successor of Le Clerc, and possessed simi- 
 lar virtues. To him, therefore, was it left to pursue 
 that barbarous policy which had been introduced by 
 his predecessor, and which only tended to inflame 
 the ardour of the black troops, without in any way 
 promoting the good of the French cause. Rocham- 
 beau certainly took the command at a time when it 
 must have appeared that the object of the expedition 
 had failed, and that the prolongation of the contest 
 would be attended with no favourable result. Op- 
 posed to an enemy, whose force was daily increasing, 
 and whose ardour was unabated and resolution un- 
 shaken, he had but little hopes of accomplishing 
 any thing beyond acting on the defensive, until such 
 reinforcements should arrive as would enable him to 
 act on the offensive with some degree of effect; but, 
 even then, there seemed not the remotest possibility 
 of his being able to retrieve the positions which had 
 been lost, and place his forces in such security as 
 might enable him to provide for a retreat, should 
 subsequent disasters make such an alternative abso- 
 lutely necessary. 
 
 In the early part of 1803, nothing decisive was 
 done on cither side. Ilochambeau and Dessalines 
 came in contact, and a battle ensued, in which the 
 latter was successful ; but the scene of carnage and 
 massacres which followed is much too painful to 
 admit of being detailed. The French general, who 
 
CHAP. VI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 167 
 
 took about five hundred prisoners, put them all to 
 death, forgetting or careless of the fate of his own 
 soldiers who were in the power of his enemy. The 
 latter retaliated; and the next morning at day break, 
 on as many gibbets, there were exhibited five hun- 
 dred French officers and men, sacrificed through the 
 savage impetuosity of their general. 
 
 The war having broken out between England and 
 France in July, a British squadron appeared off* 
 Cape Francois and blockaded the harbour, thereby 
 rendering to the blacks a most important service, 
 which in a great measure contributed to accelerate 
 the expulsion of the French. This squadron pre- 
 cluded the possibility of the French receiving any 
 supplies from the Spanish port, and the garrison and 
 inhabitants of the city were therefore reduced to the 
 most lamentable extremities. Every thing that could 
 be found, horses, mules, asses, all had been con- 
 sumed, and they were at last obliged to feed upon 
 dogs. It is said " that the French were obliged for 
 several weeks to subsist on those very bloodhounds, 
 which they had procured for the purpose of hunting 
 down the negroes."" 
 
 The city was at last reduced to the most melan- 
 choly state from the effects of famine and disease, 
 the besiegers making great exertions to intercept way 
 supplies that might be on their way for the relief of 
 the besieged. All hopes of eluding the vigilance of 
 his enemies having at length vanished, and exten- 
 
16'3 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VI. 
 
 sive preparations having been made to take the city 
 by storm, the French commander-in-chief began to 
 see that there would be a necessity for offering to 
 capitulate. Dessalines having received these pro- 
 posals, agreed to them, and the articles were signed 
 on the 19th of November. These articles were cer- 
 tainly highly favourable to the French, for they 
 provided for the security of private property, and 
 that all their sick and wounded should be carefully 
 attended by the blacks, and afterwards conveyed to 
 France in vessels bearing a neutral flag. For the 
 evacuation ten days were allowed, and Rochambeau 
 attempted a ruse de guerre, by which he hoped to 
 evade the English squadron then blockading the 
 city, but in this he totally failed. He thought that 
 the strong and stormy winds which prevailed during 
 the autumnal months, might blow off the English 
 ships, and enable the French squadron to steal away 
 unperceived; but the English commodore saw the 
 design of the French general, and consequently in- 
 creased his vigilance, and began to provide against 
 the attempt meditated by the French commander. 
 
 Finding that he had been too sanguine, and that 
 it was not possible to elude the vigilance of the 
 English squadron, Rochambeau was obliged to enter 
 into terms with the British commodore, to avoid 
 the dreadful alternative of destruction in the har- 
 bour by red-hot shot, with which he was threatened, 
 from the time agreed upon in the articles having 
 
CHAP. VI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 169 
 
 expired. The force which surrendered consisted of 
 three frigates and nearly twenty smaller vessels, 
 and prisoners to the number of about eight thou- 
 sand men were taken first to Jamaica and afterwards 
 to England. 
 
 Thus ended the war between the French and the 
 blacks in St. Domingo, and thus an expedition, 
 which at different periods brought out upwards of 
 forty thousand men, terminated in discomfiture and 
 disgrace ; and which, from the conduct of the re- 
 spective generals on whom the command devolved, 
 will ever remain an indelible stain on the military 
 character of their country. No expedition in the 
 annals of that country had been fitted out under 
 more favourable and encouraging auspices, and 
 respecting the success of which a greater interest 
 was excited. Composed of the finest troops, and 
 under the most experienced ofiicers, a different 
 termination might have been anticipated; but a 
 mistaken policy having been pursued, after the 
 moment of victory, the advantages which had been 
 previously gained were altogether lost, and upon 
 the victors was entailed the odium of defeat, toge- 
 ther with the reproach of neglect, and the want of 
 precaution and discernment. 
 
 The end of December, 1803, therefore beheld 
 the blacks in quiet possession of the island, after a 
 struggle in which they certainly exhibited proofs of 
 skill and perseverance in the multifarious duties of 
 
170 PKESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VI. 
 
 the field, highly creditable to their chiefs who had 
 the planning of them, and to the inferior leaders on 
 whom devolved the executive part : and it would 
 be wrong not to express in proper terms, the admi- 
 ration called forth by the resistance which they 
 made whenever they were hard pressed by the 
 French troops. They at times displayed a great 
 deal of heroism and unshaken courage. Standing 
 on the dead bodies of their comrades, they were 
 often seen fighting man to man with the French. 
 Such real determination to protect their liberty was 
 never contemplated by the French ; the colonists, 
 who had been the promoters of the expedition, 
 always represented the negro character as being 
 completely deficient in courage, and destitute of 
 every necessary ingredient for making soldiers. In 
 part this may be true, but examples of individual 
 bravery among the negro population were not want- 
 ing to negative the first charge ; and although the 
 last may be partially admitted, still time and expe- 
 rience had made them efficient for the field, and 
 the sequel has sufficiently proved that, at the eva- 
 cuation of the island, the negro troops were in a 
 state of discipline but little inferior to the French, 
 and in point of courage equal. Looking at them 
 in other respects, and taking into consideration 
 that they were men, who before, nay even at that 
 time, were in the grossest state of ignorance and 
 moral degradation, our astonishment is excited, 
 
CHAP. VI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. I7I 
 
 when we find that in the moment of rage and 
 revenge they often refrained from acts of cruelty 
 and torture, whilst their insatiable enemies were 
 committing the most shocking and unfeehng bar- 
 barities. 
 
 It is fairly to be presumed, that during the war 
 but little time could be devoted to the cultivation 
 of the soil, and that every thing relating to it must 
 have been neglected and have dwindled into a very 
 backward state, and that this was the case I believe 
 is generally known, for the cultivators were obliged 
 to fly to arms, and were scarcely ever permitted 
 during the struggles to return to their homes ; the 
 only persons, therefore, who could employ them- 
 selves on their plantations were the females, and 
 such of their children as were too young to carry 
 arms. But the efforts of these were not of much 
 use, for such was the destruction which accom- 
 panied the movements of the parties at war, that the 
 estates were laid waste on each side of the line of 
 march for some miles. Every operation of agricul- 
 ture was therefore in a very languid state, and 
 the apprehension under which people laboured was 
 so great that they thought not of any productions 
 beyond what they required for their own sustenance: 
 having no inducement to look forward, they only 
 guarded against present wants. 
 
 It is represented by many intelligent persons 
 amongst the people of colour, and in particular by 
 
172 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. VI. 
 
 the late Baron D , who was secretary to Chris- 
 
 tophe, and a man of considerable talent and of 
 the most unquestionable veracity, that the succes- 
 sors of Toussaint had not that influence over the 
 cultivators which their predecessor had, and that 
 neither persuasion nor the expectation of gain could 
 prevail upon them to return to their agricultural 
 employment : and that immediately after the war, it 
 would have been impolitic, if not utterly impracti- 
 cable, to have enforced it, as any thing like coercion 
 at that moment, when the minds of the people were 
 in a ferment, might have been attended with the 
 most disastrous consequences. 
 
 Commerce too had also been suspended for the 
 want of articles of exchange for the manufactures 
 of Europe and the provisions of America, and 
 during the existence of the struggle foreigners were 
 deterred from adventuring to any extent, fearing 
 the consequencss resulting from such an unsettled 
 state of things. 
 
 Toussaint certainly made great efforts to revive 
 commerce as well as agriculture, and until he was 
 treacherously seized by the French, he certainly 
 promoted both to an extent which, when the state 
 of the country and the agitation of the people 
 are weighed, appears somewhat surprising, and of 
 which I shall hereafter give a specification. The 
 system adopted by Toussaint was not dissimilar to 
 that which appears to prevail in Russia, where the 
 
CHAP. VI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 173 
 
 peasantry are attached to the soil, " adscripti 
 glebae""; and he acted wisely by doing so on account 
 of his people, of whose innate love of indolence he 
 was no mean judge, and he was anxious to remove 
 it, to promote industry and stimulate exertion. 
 
 The population of St. Domingo at this period 
 had greatly diminished; the natural increase had 
 been very small, and the ravages of war had caused 
 the loss of a great many, besides the emigration 
 which had taken place under the protection of the 
 French. The entire population in 1802, as esti- 
 mated by M. Humboldt, was three hundred and 
 seventy-five thousand ; of which two hundred and 
 ninety thousand were cultivators, forty-seven thou- 
 sand seven hundred domestics, sailors, &c. and thirty- 
 seven thousand three hundred soldiers. By a sub- 
 sequent statement of the population of the island in 
 the year 1803, immediately after the expulsion of the 
 French, and of which a note was given to me by an 
 individual who was about the person of Dessalines 
 at the time of his accession to the chief command, 
 the number appears to have been about three hun- 
 dred and forty-eight thousand, of which two hun- 
 dred and seventy-two thousand were cidtivators, 
 thirty-five thousand soldiers, and the remainder 
 were composed of domestics, artisans, and a few 
 sailors. The difference between these two state- 
 ments of twenty-seven thousand in so short a time 
 appears large, but the destruction of men must have 
 
174 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. [cHAP. VI. 
 
 been very great indeed during that period, from the 
 extraordinary rancour which existed in the French, 
 and from their cruel determination to give no 
 quarter, but to pursue a system of extermination 
 until tliey had completely destroyed all those who 
 were inimical to their interest. The emigration to 
 the Spanish part of the island was also considerable; 
 many fled thither to avert the impending blow, and 
 to save themselves from the fate which awaited those 
 who had been v/avering in the cause of liberty. 
 The successors of Toussaint they were aware would 
 visit them with the heaviest penalties, and from 
 the known ferocity of Dessalines they had to expect 
 but little mercy, his character among his brethren 
 for barbarity and thirst for blood and revenge being 
 too well established not to be greatly dreaded. 
 
 I shall now proceed to take a short review of the 
 proceedings of the succeeding chiefs who governed 
 the island after this time. In doing so, I shall ab- 
 stain from any reference to military operations, ex- 
 cept in cases where it may be required for the 
 clearer illustration of my subject. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Independence declared. — Dessalines attempts to take the 
 city of Santo Domingo. — Raised to the imperial dignity. 
 — New constitution. — His atrocious massacres. — At- 
 tempts to import negroes from Africa. — Encourages 
 cultivators. — Census taken. — State of his army. — His 
 death and character. 
 
 The independence of Hayti was declared on the 
 1st of January, 1804, and the first step taken by 
 Dessahnes, who had been vested with the chief com- 
 mand, was to endeavour to stop the emigration 
 which was going on, and remove the dekision under 
 which the blacks were labouring. For this purpose 
 he caused it to be made generally known, that all 
 previous opinions would be buried in oblivion, 
 and those who had been allured to take part with 
 the enemies of the colony, and had been induced 
 to emigrate from apprehension of the consequences 
 which such conduct might entail upon them, were 
 invited to return to their homes, being assured of 
 protection and security ; at the same time, however, 
 he gave it out, that all those who were disposed to 
 accompany the French army were at liberty to do 
 so, and should be allowed to depart unmolested. 
 This augured favourably, and many took advantage 
 
17G PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VII. 
 
 of this declaration of clemency, who afterwards had 
 to regret their credulity and condemn their own 
 want of foresight and discretion. 
 
 To give a colour of clemency and humanity to this 
 declaration of the black general-in-chief, and to 
 stamp it with the mark of sincerity, another pro- 
 clamation was issued signed by Dessalines, Chris- 
 tophe, and Clerveaux, a mulatto, in which the in- 
 dependence of the colony is declared, and en- 
 couragement given to the emigrants to return to 
 their properties. It says, " towards those men who 
 do us justice, we will act as brothers; let them rely for 
 ever on our esteem and friendship; let them return 
 amongst us. The God who protects us, the God 
 of freemen, bids us stretch out towards them our 
 conquering arms." Allured by a proclamation 
 which held out a promise of security and protection, 
 many returned from the interior of the island, 
 whither they had fled for safety. 
 
 As a great many freemen of colour, as well as 
 slaves, had emigrated to the United States at the 
 commencement of the revolution, and as many had 
 manifested a desire to return, but were without the 
 means of accomplishing it, Dessalines devised a 
 plan to enable them to do so ; but this plan does 
 not appear to have succeeded, for there is no au- 
 thentic proof that any of them ever returned : it is 
 on the contrary known, that although the emissaries of 
 Dessalines were industriously employed in America, 
 
CHAP. VII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 177 
 
 but very few of the negroes and people of colour 
 availed themselves of the advantages which were so 
 glowingly held out to them ; doubting the sincerity 
 of the general-in-chief on the one hand, and on the 
 other, living in some degree of comfort and tran- 
 quillity with their new masters, they had no wish to 
 try an experiment by which they might lose a great 
 deal, and gain nothing. As it afterwards turned out, 
 their decision was prudent and wise, for it was no 
 doubt the aim of the inhuman Dessalines to make 
 them all objects of his brutal ferocity, and this was 
 the impression of those who were beyond the reach 
 of his vengeance ; they could never be inspired 
 with the hope of safety, were they to give up the 
 hold of which they had obtained possession. To 
 hazard a security, by visionary schemes of improve- 
 ment is a proof of weakness and indiscretion ; and 
 those who had obtained that security were deter- 
 mined to preserve it, by not listening to the pro- 
 posals of the negro chief. Had such a proposal 
 been made by Toussaint, many, from an innate love 
 of their native soil, would no doubt have accepted 
 it ; but a proposition from a man so base and san- 
 guinary as Dessalines, surely, could never have 
 found one individual who would have had faith or 
 confidence in it. It is evident, that he meditated 
 the destruction of all those who returned, and that 
 too in the most cruel and brutal way ; such a thing 
 as mercy formed no constituent of the character of 
 
 N 
 
178 PRESENT STATE OF ITAYTI, [ciIAP. VIT. 
 
 the most ferocious tyrant that ever afflicted tlie in- 
 habitants of any country. Those wlio had emigrated 
 to America, I think, would have returned, had the 
 proposition for their doing so been made by any 
 other of tlie chiefs ; but coming from such a wretch 
 as Dessalines, it deterred instead of having en- 
 couraged them. 
 
 A short time after Dessahnes had been invested 
 with the chief command, he began to discard all 
 the appellations which were used in the time of the 
 French, and Hayti, the name given to the island 
 by the Aborigines, was adopted instead of Saint 
 Domingo, and he was severe in the extreme towards 
 any one who might by the smallest and purest ac- 
 cident use any of the abrogated terms. This was 
 followed by a general call on the people to revenge 
 the wrongs which they had endured, and to exe- 
 cute vengeance upon those whom they conceived to 
 have been the authors of it. The white French 
 people, therefore, were indiscriminately sacrificed, 
 not indeed by the inhabitants or cultivators, who 
 preferred peace, and wished clemency to be shewn to- 
 wards all, but by the troops, headed by their officers, 
 and under the orders of the general-in-chief No 
 age nor sex was spared: the brutal soldiers, led on 
 by their merciless officers, ran from door to door, 
 and left not one alive whom they could find within; 
 the females, whose amiable softness might have 
 stayed the hand of the savage in his native wilds, 
 
CHAP. VII.] OR SAINT DO?»IINGO. 179 
 
 first endured the most dreadful violation, and then 
 were bayoneted and most shockingly mangled. 
 
 Military execution is at all times, and in all coun- 
 tries, to be greatly dreaded. It is always attended 
 with those appalling enormities and barbarities, 
 which make it the scourge of those nations which 
 resort to it ; it shews not the least mercy to either 
 the innocent, the child, or the female with all her 
 sweetness and charms, but all are indiscriminately 
 the objects of its ravages, and the innocent with the 
 guilty feel its atrocious influence, without being able 
 to avert its vengeance and fury. In Hayti the ef- 
 fects of it must have been heavy indeed, and from 
 the fact of its having been perpetrated by people 
 who were little advanced over the unlettered savage 
 of the desert, its consequences must have been hor- 
 rible beyond the powers of language to describe. 
 The measures which the merciless Dessalines adopt- 
 ed were enough to deter people from expressing their 
 abhorrence for such vindictive proceedings. He 
 made all his officers assume the capacity of spies, 
 and in consequence, it became dangerous even to 
 speak ; all therefore being silent spectators of his 
 enormities, he took it for granted that they ap- 
 proved, whilst fear alone prevented them from loudly 
 pronouncing their abhorrence and detestation of his 
 most flagitious conduct. 
 
 This crafty and execrable monster had recourse 
 to one of the most diabolical acts recorded in the 
 
 X 2 
 
180 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. VIT. 
 
 annals of history, for the purpose of collecthig all 
 those people together, who had escaped from the 
 military massacres. He gave it out by a proclama- 
 tion, that as he intended to stay his vengeance for 
 the sufferings to which his brethren had been ex- 
 posed, all those who had escaped execution under 
 his military decree, should appear at an appointed 
 spot for the purpose of receiving tickets, which 
 might in future protect them from the vengeance of 
 the people ; and many who had been fortunate 
 enough to escape, as they thought, in the first 
 massacre, became the victims of the second; for no 
 sooner did these unsuspecting and deluded creatures 
 obtain what they conceived an assurance that their 
 lives would be spared, than leaving their hiding 
 places, they ran with eagerness to the place an- 
 nounced for issuing the tickets, when they were 
 immediately seized and led away for instant execu- 
 tion. Before he perpetrated so deliberate, base, 
 cool blooded, and horrible an act, even Nero would 
 have paused ; but the infamous and blood thirsty 
 negro Dessalines secretly rejoiced at the success of 
 his inhuman stratagem. 
 
 Another of this monster's acts of barbarity is re- 
 corded. A young Frenchman, the son of a very opu- 
 lent planter, had escaped during the early part of the 
 revolution, with his father and the rest of his family, 
 to Jamaica, where he had followed the occupation of 
 a clerk in a mercantile house in Kingston. On its 
 
CHAP. Vir.] OR SAINT I>OMINGO. 181 
 
 being known that all persons were invited back to 
 their native country, he adopted the resolution to 
 go up to Port au Prince, and procure leave to settle 
 there. Speaking English fluently, he obtained a clerk- 
 ship in the counting-house of an English merchant 
 in that city. After having been there for some time, 
 the monster heard of him, and it was intimated that 
 he was a Frenchman. When he was sent for to ap- 
 pear at the government-house, the young man com- 
 plied, and attended at the time appointed. Dessa- 
 lines received him in the presence of his numerous 
 officers, and told him that he had sent for him to 
 ascertain if he were a Frenchman. The young man 
 replied in the negative, and that he was a native of 
 Jamaica, born of French parents, and had come to 
 the city as a clerk to an establishment connected 
 with the house in which he had lived in that 
 island. Dessalines expressed much regret at the dis- 
 appointment he felt, said he hoped to discover in 
 him the son of a planter of his name, from whom 
 he, Dessalines, had received much kindness, and 
 who had once saved his life; and stated that he was 
 most anxious to learn if any of the family were 
 living, that he might be enabled to shew his grati- 
 tude, by restoring them to their estates, and afford- 
 ing them encouragement and protection. The 
 young man elated with this expression of kindness 
 and good will, and in the moment of credulous joy, 
 declared himself to be the son of the man whom lie 
 
182 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CIIAP. VII. 
 
 had represented as having been his benefactor. The 
 inhuman savage with a laugh whicli resounded 
 through the whole apartment, and jumping, as he 
 was wont to do whenever he had succeeded in en- 
 trapping an individual, from his chair, ordered the 
 young man to be bayoneted in his presence, which 
 was instantly done, whilst he looked on with the 
 most ferocious countenance, indicative of the inward 
 satisfaction he felt in having sacrificed another 
 victim on the altar of revenge. 
 
 It is certain that Dessalines willingly took upon 
 himself the responsibility of all these enormities; 
 he even gloried in them, boasted that he had in- 
 flicted them on the French, and alleged that his 
 predecessor Toussaint had been too lenient and too 
 backward in his measures against those who opposed 
 his cause. In his subsequent proclamation, he 
 claims to himself the whole merit of these atrocious 
 proceedings, and declares that in future he will 
 admit no Europeans to hold property in the colony. 
 That part of his proclamation is extremely harsh, 
 and shews the malignancy of his nature, and his 
 hatred of the whites ; it states, as the translation 
 from another author has it: " Generals, officers, 
 soldiers, somewhat unlike him who has preceded me, 
 the ex-general Toussaint L'Ouverture, I have been 
 faithful to the promise I have made to you wlien 
 I took up arms against tyranny, and whiltit a spark 
 of life remains in me I will keej) my oath. Never 
 
CHAP. VII.] Oil SAIN'4' DOMINGO. 183 
 
 again shall a colonist or European set his foot upon 
 this territory, with the title of master or proprietor. 
 This resolution shall henceforward form the funda- 
 mental basis of our constitution." * 
 
 When all the massacres were at an end, he began 
 to turn his attention towards restoring the country 
 to some degree of tranquillity, after the injuries 
 which it had sustained by the war, and to endeavour, 
 if possible, to remove the fears under which the peo- 
 ple seemed to labour, from the apprehension of a 
 future interruption of their quiet and repose. He 
 therefore determined to visit all parts under his 
 command, and to make those arrangements which 
 had a tendency, not only to augment the wealth of 
 the island, but also to promote the welfare of his 
 people, and inspire confidence in his future govern- 
 ment. So commendable an act was certainly en- 
 titled to the highest praise and consideration, but 
 emanating from so execrable a character it seemed 
 paradoxical, and many questioned his sincerity, and 
 were apprehensive that he contemplated measures 
 of a contrary tendency. In the present instance, 
 however, he was not dissembling, for he evinced 
 more than common anxiety for the reestablishment 
 of agriculture, and held out to the people the high 
 advantages that were to be derived from their per- 
 sonal exertions in the culture of their lands ; and 
 for the purpose of stimulating them, he assured 
 
 * Anonymous. 
 
184 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VII. 
 
 them of his intention to encourage an intercourse 
 with the United States and England, in order to 
 open a vent for their own productions, and to ensure 
 on better terms the purchase of those articles of 
 foreign growth and manufacture of which they stood 
 in need. This seems to have been particularly of- 
 fered for his consideration by some American mer- 
 chants of respectabihty, with whom Dessalines fre- 
 quently held conferences on subjects having a re- 
 ference to his future government: and it has been 
 communicated to me by one of them, that he was, 
 notwithstanding his irascible temper, very attentive 
 to their representations, and shewed great deference 
 for their opinions, and frequently acted upon them 
 in matters of commerce, when he found them con- 
 sistent with the policy which he meant to pursue ; 
 otherwise he heard them deliberate upon them, and 
 if he thought they proposed any thing to which he 
 could not readily concur, he would freely state his 
 objections, but always expressed himself thankful. 
 
 After a short period had elapsed, he also 
 beo-an to concert measures for the reduction of the 
 Spanish part of the island. The city of Santo 
 Dominffo had rendered ineffectual all the efforts of 
 the blacks to sow dissensions among the people. 
 There were but few slaves in this part of the island, 
 and those were living in so great a state of equality 
 with the people, that slavery was only known by 
 name, and they evinced no desire whatever to throw 
 
CHAP. VII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 185 
 
 off their adherence to their masters, and join their 
 brethren of the west. Both th^se parties united in 
 their resolution to oppose the tyrant, whom they 
 equally detested, should he appear before Santo 
 Domingo-. At last Dessalines laid siege to the city, 
 vainly conceiving that the terror of his name and 
 the extent of his achievements would deter the peo- 
 ple from making any resistance, and that they would 
 surrender on his first appearance before it, on being 
 assured of his protection and friendship. But in this 
 he was egregiously deceived, for the besieged made 
 strong preparations for defence, and determined on 
 the most vigorous efforts to repel his attacks. In 
 the mean time a reinforcement having arrived from 
 France, proved a very seasonable succour to the in- 
 habitants ; this induced Dessalines to raise the siege 
 and return to the west, without having been able to 
 carry into effect this last design, which caused him 
 no little chagrin and disappointment. 
 
 His tour through the country, and his incursion 
 to the Spanish part of the island, were followed in 
 a short time by his elevation to the imperial dignity; 
 on the 8th of October, 1804, with great parade and 
 splendour, he was crowned " Emperor of Hayti." 
 His elevation to the imperial throne was recog- 
 nized in the following year by the new constitution, 
 and being proclaimed immediately throughout the 
 island, the announcement was received with little or 
 no enthusiasm. 
 
186 rUESEXT STATE OF IIAYTI, [ciIAr. VII. 
 
 In this new constitution there are some things 
 which certainly indicate a great desire for the im- 
 provement of the country, and manifest a very 
 strong wish to promote the happiness and improve 
 the condition of the people, and to introduce some- 
 thing like morality among them. It says, that no 
 Haytian is entitled to the privileges of a citizen, 
 who does not inherit all the qualities of a good 
 father, a good son, and a good husband. No child 
 could be disinherited by his parents ; emigration 
 subjected a person to the loss of his citizenship, and 
 a citizen becoming bankrupt lost all his privileges ; 
 all citizens too were required to make themselves 
 skilful in some mechanical trade. Such enactments 
 as these did credit to the people from whom they 
 emanated, and must in some measure soften our 
 detestation of Dessalines, who consented that they 
 should form a part of the fundamental laws which 
 he was sworn to observe, and by which he engaged 
 to govern. By the new constitution also religion 
 was tolerated, although it was declared that there 
 should be no predominant religion, copying in this 
 particular the United States, which it was the aim 
 of the Haytians to imitate as nearly as circumstances 
 would permit. Marriage it declared to be merely a 
 civil ceremony, tending to improve society, and to 
 inspire the people with a disgust for the unlimited 
 sensuality then so prevalent in the country. 
 
 Dessalines during his imperial reign made the 
 
CHxVP. VII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 187 
 
 Strongest efforts to increase the population of the 
 island, his ferocious disposition having been some- 
 what softened by the sweets of peace and tranquil- 
 lity, which now in all parts happily reigned. People 
 of colour and blacks began to return to their homes, 
 and others from the French and British colonies 
 found their way thither, and were received in a very 
 cordial manner, every pledge of protection being 
 given them. One act of the emperor, however, for 
 the purpose of increasing his male population, seems 
 to have excited no little astonishment as well as in- 
 dignation, and that was the importation of people 
 from Africa. For this object he wished to enter into 
 a commercial treaty with the British agent from 
 Jamaica, offering to open the ports of Hayti to the 
 British slave ships, and to grant to the Jamaica im- 
 porters the exclusive right of selling negroes in 
 Hiiyti ! True it is, the privilege was to extend to 
 the importation of men only, and that they were 
 not to be sold to any other persons but those ap- 
 pointed by the government, which wanted them, as 
 it has been generally wished should be understood, 
 to increase their military establishment, but which 
 in fact required them for the cultivation of the go- 
 vernment lands which had fallen into a state of 
 neglect and unproductiveness. This arrangement 
 however did not take place ; not by reason of any 
 backwardness evinced by the emperor, but because 
 no disposition was shewn by the British agent to 
 
188 rriESENT state of hayti, [chap. vii. 
 
 accept the offer of a grant, which, to say the least 
 of it, appeared a most extraordinary and unaccount- 
 able measure. Some have observed, that the 
 emperor himself was dissuaded from it on the ground 
 that its principle was nearly allied to that slave 
 trade, to which it could not fail to give encourage- 
 ment ; but he contended, that it was a measure of 
 necessity, of political expediency, which, with him, 
 superseded every other consideration ; and besides, 
 he alleged that he should be performing an act of 
 humanity towards the African race, by permitting 
 them to be brought into his dominions, as otherwise 
 they would be taken to Jamaica and made slaves. 
 
 From a note which I obtained of a census taken 
 in 1805, the population of Hayti appears to have 
 amounted to about four hundred thousand, of all de- 
 nominations, so that by natural augmentation and 
 by emigration from other countries, there was an 
 evident increase in three years of at least twenty- 
 five thousand, taking M. Humboldt's statement of 
 the population in 1802 to be a correct one. But 
 from the manner in which the census was taken, a 
 considerable degree of inaccuracy must have arisen, 
 and hence the census of 1805 may in all probability 
 have overstated the actual number : otherwise the 
 increase seems to have been prodigious, and con- 
 sequently questionable. The taking of a census was 
 left entirely to the military officers of the respective 
 districts in which they commanded, and a very 
 
CHAP. VII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 189 
 
 large proportion of these personages could neither 
 read nor write, and no great confidence can there- 
 fore be placed in these returns. 
 
 Placide Justin states the amount of the census of 
 1805 at tln-ee hundred and eighty thousand, and 
 twenty thousand, which from a variety of causes, 
 he says, may have been omitted in the returns. 
 This is a strong evidence of their mode of takins" 
 a census being most imperfect. 
 
 Dessalines was particularly solicitous for the 
 encouragement of the cultivators of the soil, and 
 held out to them every possible inducement to 
 labour. The code of Toussaint was enforced, and 
 the people seemed to work contentedly, but not to 
 the same extent as they did in Toussaint's time. 
 By Dessalines the cultivators were permitted to 
 change the estates on which they had chosen to 
 work, on expressing to the commanding officer of 
 the district that they wished to do so, and by as- 
 signing a sufficient reason for such wdsh : but on no 
 other account could they leave the property w ithout 
 incurring the penalty attached to such an offence. 
 Now whatever may be said about the freedom of the 
 cultivators by the advocates for free labour, I 
 must be permitted to say, that no instance has yet 
 been adduced of such fi-eedom in practice, and I 
 must beg leave to maintain still that the code of 
 Toussaint, which was acted upon by his successor, 
 exhibits a greater proof of the existence of coercion 
 
190 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VII. 
 
 than any thing I have seen, and that the conduct 
 pursued by Dessalines towards the cultivators, 
 though he wished it to be understood that he was 
 anxious for their welfare, was harsh and severe in 
 the extreme, and that those who worked on the 
 government estates felt it so. It has been com- 
 municated to me by an individual who managed one 
 of the properties held by the government, that 
 Dessalines, who v/ell knew the work which could 
 be performed by one man, had a regular daily return 
 sent in to him of the quantum of work done, and 
 should there have been any relaxation from the day 
 before, he broke out into a torrent of abuse, aiid 
 often sentenced the negligent negroes, as a punish- 
 ment, to labour on the public roads. 
 
 The greater portion of the labour bestowed upon 
 the soil was confined to the cultivation of coffee. 
 The sugar plantations having been destroyed andfhe 
 works demolished, but little sugar was now made in 
 proportion to the quantity produced in the time of 
 the French, as will be shewn hereafter in my ge- 
 neral remarks upon the agricultural state of the 
 country, and the specifications of the returns at 
 the respective periods. 
 
 Dessalines, it is said, paid some attention to the 
 clergy, although he was but little better than an 
 infidel. He gave strict injunctions that all persons 
 should be attentive to the celebration of public 
 worship, and particularly observe tlie sabbath. 
 
CHAP. VII.] OK SAINT DOMINGO. 191 
 
 This was a measure dictated by policy, for the bet- 
 ter preserving order, and keeping the people in a 
 tranquil state. He went through the exterior 
 forms of religious worship as a matter of necessity, 
 and as an example to his subjects, but not from 
 any inward feelings of devotion or regard for 
 religion. He encouraged marriage as much as 
 possible among his people, and rigidly exacted at- 
 tention to it, and endeavoured to impress his 
 people with the impropriety of sensuality and 
 voluptuousness ; but in his ovrn person he appears to 
 have been the most depraved and most licentious 
 man in the country. 
 
 The army of the emperor did not form a very 
 powerful body. His standing force after the con- 
 clusion of the war did not exceed tv.'enty thousand 
 men, of infantry and cavalry. The militia, or, as 
 they were formerly termed, the national guards, 
 were numerous, because every man from the age of 
 sixteen to fifty was obliged to assemble four tim^es a 
 year, and undergo a regular service of training for 
 several days at each period, v/hen they returned to 
 their usual avocations. His troops were active, well 
 disciplined and armed, but their clothing was of 
 the coarsest kind, and at all times in the very worst 
 condition. All the fortifications in the different 
 parts of the island he endeavoured to put in a pro- 
 per state of defence, lest the French should make 
 another descent, of which they were at times very 
 
192 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VII. 
 
 apprehensive, and he took care to keep all the pro- 
 vision grounds in the vicinity of the several fast- 
 nesses in the mountains in a good state, that the 
 different garrisons might be well supplied with pro- 
 visions in case it should, at any subsequent period, 
 become necessary to resort to them for security. 
 The good old maxim, tliat the best security for the 
 preservation of peace is always to be prepared for 
 war, seems not to have been forgotten by Dessa- 
 lines, or by those on whom the executive part of 
 his government devolved. 
 
 Although Dessalines, impressed at last by a sense 
 of his own enormities, endeavoured to make some 
 atonement for them, yet the people, who had so 
 often experienced the severity of his mandates, and 
 dreaded a recurrence of similar measures, secretly 
 detested him as a savage and a tyrant, under whom 
 it was not possible to expect happiness or repose ; 
 and any indication of mildness and humanity was 
 only considered the forerunner of some atrocious 
 crime which he meditated. Wearied out by his 
 suspicions and jealousies, deprived of friends and 
 connexions who were often snatched from them, and 
 hurried to an immediate execution, without even 
 the semblance of judicial proceedings having been 
 instituted against them, the people at last deter- 
 mined to dethrone him, and aided by his troops, 
 who could no longer submit to his caprices and his 
 tyranny, they conspired against him, and in the 
 
CHAP. VII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 193 
 
 vicinity of Port au Prince, and at no great distance 
 from the north gate of the city? he was killed by 
 one of his own soldiers, on the 17^^ ^^ October, 
 1806. 
 
 The individual who shot him was a mulatto 
 youth, whom I have seen, and who at the time of 
 the tyrant's death did not exceed fifteen years of 
 age. He v/as attached to the militia, and was in 
 ambush at the time of Dess alines' advance at the 
 head of his staff, accompanied by some soldiers. 
 The moment they saw their master fall, some of 
 them attempted to revenge his death, but they met 
 a similar fate: others rejoiced at an event which 
 appeared to them merely in the light of just retri- 
 bution for crimes of unparalleled inhumanity and 
 atrocity. 
 
 Dessalines had been a slave ; his master was a 
 carpenter, or shingler, somewhat like a tiler in 
 England. He was short, but very stoutly formed, 
 and capable of undergoing more than the ordinary 
 fatigue of men. His capacity was not extensive, 
 rising but little, if at all, above mediocrity ; he could 
 neither read nor write, with the exception of being 
 capable of signing his name. His military talents 
 had more the appearance of daring movements, 
 than of judicious and well planned operations ; and 
 he more often succeeded by his own courage and 
 example, than by the superiority of his arrange- 
 ments. His activity was surprising, and the cele- 
 
 o 
 
194 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. [cHAP. VII. 
 
 rity with which he moved from one point of his 
 command to another, astonished even his enemies. 
 He was vain, capricious, and fond of flattery ; 
 and those who were most forward to compliment 
 him for his exterior embelUshments, to which he 
 was exceedingly attentive, were certain of being 
 admitted into his favour. His last wife, for he had 
 been twice married, is now living in Port au Prince 
 in retirement, and with a very small income. She 
 is quite neglected by the present government, to its 
 disgrace, as she had often been the means of staying 
 the bloody hand of her husband, when he was about 
 to sign an order for the indiscriminate execution of 
 the whites and mulattoes. She bears the marks of 
 a negress who at one time was extremely handsome, 
 and her exterior must have been commanding : she 
 is rather above the middle size of females, but not 
 too tall, nor yet too large in proportion. The white 
 inhabitants of Port au Prince, and particularly 
 strangers who occasionally visit it, never fail to at- 
 tempt to obtain a sight of her, as her name and 
 her character excite a great deal of interest, and 
 surely entitle her to the best support of the existing 
 government, which boasts — and it is only an empty 
 boast — of being generous to those who have rendered 
 
 the country a service. 
 
CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 Christophe takes the command. — His officers of govern- 
 ment. — Promotes agriculture and commerce. — Petion 
 opposes him. — Cessation of arms mutually agreed upon. 
 — Christophe crowned king. — Code Henry. — Baron de 
 Vastey's opinions. — Commissioners from France. — Con- 
 duct to them. — Christophe pursues his system of govern- 
 ment. — Petion relaxes in his. — His offers to the British 
 government. — State of his dominions. — Has recourse to 
 a debased currency. — Consequences. — His death. — 
 Christophe negotiates for the possession of the Spanish 
 part. — Revolution in his dominions. — His death. 
 
 When Dessalines fell, the people seemed to con- 
 sider that they were released from the most abject 
 and oppressive tyranny, and the event was celebrated 
 with the greatest demonstrations of joy ; and satis- 
 faction and comfort were observed in the counte- 
 nances ofthe people, whilst the soldiers congratulated 
 each other on being relieved from a state of servi- 
 tude almost insupportable. It was no doubt a most 
 fortunate event for the liberty of the people, and 
 their exultations therefore cannot be in the least a 
 matter of astonishment. 
 
 There was one evil however which they had not 
 to contend with in the time of Dessalines, a com- 
 petition for the chief command. He had kept all 
 
 o 2 
 
190 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP, VIII. 
 
 in subordination by tlie terror of his name, none 
 daring to oppose him ; and consequently, so long as 
 the people attended to the duties of their station, 
 and remained passive observers of the measures of 
 his government, they were not molested ; but after 
 his death, civil war was rekindled, and their repose 
 much disturbed, and consequently their avocations 
 for a time were again partially suspended. 
 
 Christophe, who had been next in command to 
 Dessalines, and who, during the period of Tous- 
 saint's sway, displayed great skill and activity at 
 the head of the troops under his command, and to 
 whom was entrusted the defence of the city of Cape 
 Francois, on the arrival of the French army under 
 Le Clerc, now assumed the supreme command in 
 Hayti, and from his spirit and talent he seemed 
 better qualified for this hnportant trust than any 
 other of the officers attached to the government. 
 At this period he stood very high in the estimation 
 of the people, and his humanity, with his moral 
 and religious conduct, had diffiised a general satis- 
 faction and approval of his elevation. His bravery 
 was indisputable, as he had upon several trying 
 occasions manifested a degree of courage, which 
 inspired his troops with confidence and his country 
 with admiration. His assumption of the supreme 
 command was therefore pleasing to his countrymen, 
 who were not backward in proving that his elevation 
 met with their universal concurrence, and that they 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAI:NT DOMINGO. 197 
 
 looked forward for the most flourishing and happy 
 times from an event so auspicious. 
 
 Christophe displayed great judgment and good 
 sense at the very beginning of his government by 
 calling around him men of talent, both black and 
 coloured, whether they had been at all times at- 
 tached to the cause of independence, or, on the con- 
 trary, had on some occasions been ranged in oppo- 
 sition to it. He made no distinction; he looked for 
 men of abilities wherever they could be found, and 
 he had no aversion for even the whites (unless they 
 were French, of whom he was always suspicious 
 from their intriguing characters), having several of 
 them near him, with whom he would often consult 
 on matters of state policy, and on his future views 
 with regard to agriculture, commerce, and matters 
 of finance. To these persons he always paid implicit 
 attention, deliberated upon every subject which they 
 thought it prudent to suggest, and otherwise evinced 
 a confidence in them, which in return inspired re- 
 spect for his authority and an attachment for his per- 
 son. With one of his secretaries, Mons. Dupuy, 
 afterwards Baron Dupuy, I have had some conversa- 
 tion on subjects connected with the history of his 
 country. He was a man of education and of great 
 natural talents ; had acquired considerable informa- 
 tion on matters of government, and seemed to pos- 
 sess no little degree of knowledge of the politics and 
 views of the European cabinets. His mind was well 
 
198 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 Stored with historical information, and he was sen- 
 sible of the way by which his country was to exalt 
 herself in the estimation of the world. He looked 
 upon it to be the first duty of the executive to devise 
 plans for the encouragement of agriculture, and for 
 the extension of commerce; and he left no means 
 untried to endeavour to open an intercourse with 
 those countries from which there w^as a probability 
 of deriving advantages, and with England in parti- 
 cular, which he highly extolled. To Mons. Dupuy, 
 Christophe looked up with attention ; and although 
 he was a man of colour, which, as some have in- 
 sinuated, was objectionable, not one in his suite re- 
 ceived more attention, for there was not one who 
 could be more serviceable : as the chiefs interpreter 
 too he was invaluable, and no man could have been 
 more faithful towards his master. 
 
 l)e Vastey, another of his secretaries, was also a 
 man of strong natural understanding, and a work 
 described as his " lleflections on the Blacks and 
 Whites", with his notes, printed at Cape Haytian, 
 1814, shews, that he possessed no little acquaintance 
 with history, and that he was not without some 
 knowledge of mankind in most countries, as well as 
 of the ojnnions entertained in Europe on the affairs 
 of his country. De Vastey is now living at the Cape 
 in retirement, and is exceedingly attentive to the 
 English residents, for whom he has a very high re- 
 spect and veneration. He is a black. 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 199 
 
 Mens. Prevost, afterwards Count Limondc, and 
 secretary for foreign affairs, exhibited proofs of a 
 very strong mind, and displayed considerable 
 knowledge in political matters, as his state papers 
 particularly exemplify : in him also Christophe 
 placed great confidence, and to him he entrusted the 
 entire regulation of his foreign communications ; and 
 in doing so, he shewed that he confided in a servant 
 of no ordinary judgment and discretion, who seemed 
 to be impressed with a sense of the importance of his 
 duties, and shewed a great desire to acquit himself 
 to the satisfaction of his chief, and to ensure the re- 
 spect of his countrymen. 
 
 With such men as these, and one or two others, 
 English and Americans, Christophe generally con- 
 ferred, and to their suggestions for his future plans 
 of governing, he generally, if not always, acceded: 
 and it is not a matter therefore of any surprise if 
 the regulations with which he commenced his career 
 should be marked by great judgment, discretion, 
 and good policy. 
 
 The first step of Christophe was to assume the 
 plain and simple designation of "Chief of the Govern- 
 ment of Hayti '', under which, and not the imperial 
 dignity, it was his determination to govern ; and he 
 made the most prompt arrangements for imme- 
 diately endeavouring to establish a commercial un- 
 derstanding with Great Britain and the United 
 States. To effect this object he expressed the 
 
200 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP VIII. 
 
 greatest anxiety to several of the officers of the 
 British men-of-war who frequented the port of the 
 Cape, and to whom he always shewed the greatest 
 courtesy and civility. To the Americans who were 
 about him, and who had taken up their residence at 
 the Cape for the purpose of carrying on their com- 
 mercial dealings with the people, he also expressed 
 a similar desire ; and the latter, always on the alert 
 to communicate any thing likely to extend the com- 
 mercial intercourse of their country, immediately 
 undertook to transmit his wish to their government, 
 but the proposition made to the British did not at 
 that time receive an immediate acquiescence. Had 
 it been consistent with the British colonial interests 
 to enter into a commercial treaty at this time, there 
 is no doubt, I think, of one having been concluded, 
 which would have insured to Great Britain privileges 
 of trade that would not have been conceded to any 
 other country. Every man connected with the go- 
 vernment, and who had any weight with Chris- 
 tophe, considered it of paramount consequence that 
 the countenance of England should be gained, if pos- 
 sible, and that it was expedient that such advan- 
 tages should be offered as would induce that power 
 to enter into a commercial treaty with them, with- 
 out at all adverting to the effect it might produce 
 on other powers : but it does not appear that 
 such measures were ever adopted, and it is pre- 
 sumed, that an intimation was given from an un- 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 201 
 
 doubted quarter, that no propositions could be re- 
 ceived by the British government at that juncture in 
 consequence of the effect it might produce in their 
 own colonies. The matter, therefore, remained in 
 suspense,- and Christophe began to turn his attention 
 to other important measures for the aggrandizement 
 of his country. 
 
 His first address teemed with sentiments which 
 did honour to the feelings by which he was actuated. 
 It was dated the 24th of October, 1806, and set 
 forth the system which he intended to pursue with 
 respect to commerce. It proclaimed certain free 
 ports, and that the flag of all nations would be re- 
 spected, and property protected ; that personal 
 security was pledged ; and that the odious law, 
 passed by his predecessor Dessalines, which esta- 
 blished exclusive consignments in the citizens of the 
 country, was abrogated, and that every individual 
 should be privileged to place his property in the 
 hands of his own factor, who should have the full 
 protection of the government. 
 
 Such regulations were productive of the gi'eatest 
 benefit to the country. Americans and Europeans 
 began to find their advantage in trading with Hay ti ; 
 and the manufactures of England, with the pro- 
 visions of the United States, began to flow into it 
 freely, and in quantities quite large enough for the 
 means of the people, in return for which they ob- 
 tained the staple products of the country, and on 
 
202 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. Vlll. 
 
 terms that enabled them to carry on a very bene- 
 ficial and lucrative trade. The people were not 
 disposed for any of the extravagantly rich manu- 
 factures of Europe; they confined themselves en- 
 tirely to such as their means would permit them to 
 purchase, and in no case was a system of credit 
 resorted to ; every thing was confined to barter with 
 foreigners, who certainly were not yet sufficiently 
 conscious of the rectitude and integrity of the peo- 
 ple, to adopt a measure which was likely to be at- 
 tended with so much danger of loss. Where, 
 therefore, there was no credit, there was but little 
 if any risk, and the commerce of Hayti was, in 
 consequence of such a system, of great advantage 
 to those who engaged in it, many of those who first 
 adventured thither realizing handsome fortunes. 
 
 Christophe had not long been at the head of the 
 government before a competitor for the supreme au- 
 thority started up in the person of Alexandre Petion, 
 a mulatto, who had succeeded to the command held 
 by Clerveaux, after the death of that general, and 
 was subsequently commander-in-chief at Port au 
 Prince. Petion was greatly respected by the people; 
 he was of a mild and attractive manner, and pos- 
 sessed talents of a very superior order. He had 
 been educated in France, and served in the French 
 armies, in which he had acquired the rank of a field 
 officer. He was a skilful engineer, in which capa- 
 city, it appears, he had rendered the most cssen- 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 203 
 
 tial services to Toussaint and Dessalines, from both 
 of whom he received the greatest marks of attention 
 and advancement in his miUtary rank. He was in- 
 duced to aim at the sovereign authority at the in- 
 stigation of the population of the southern and west- 
 ern districts, the largest proportion of which were 
 persons of colour; and the blacks in the same di- 
 vision were much inclined to support his claims, 
 his general deportment and his known talents hav- 
 ing inspired them with confidence and esteem. 
 
 Both chiefs now began to have recourse to arms, 
 and Christophe, who had succeeded in many of the 
 rencontres which had taken place, secured the whole 
 of the north ; but on his advancing to the south, and 
 making an attempt on Port au Prince, he failed, 
 returned to his seat of government at Cape Francois, 
 and began to shew a disposition towards peace and 
 the prosecution of those designs which he meditated 
 for insuring the tranquillity of his country, and pro- 
 moting the happiness of the people. 
 
 In the February following he published his new 
 constitution, in which the Catholic religion is de- 
 clared to be the religion of the state, and every 
 other religion is tolerated. For the better encourage- 
 ment of commerce and an intercourse with foreigners, 
 it is declared " that the government solemnly gua- 
 rantees the foreign merchants the security of their 
 persons and properties.'"' 
 
 He began also to make great advancement in the 
 
204: PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 instruction of youth, and contemplated tlie esta- 
 blishment of public schools, so soon as the state of 
 the country should be sufficiently tranquillized to 
 enable him to carry his intentions into effect. 
 
 In a proclamation which he subsequently issued, 
 he dwells strongly on the subject of agriculture, and 
 expresses an anxiety, beyond his ordinary solicitude, 
 for the encouragement of that great source of na- 
 tional wealth. He makes a m.ost forcible and 
 powerful appeal to the people, exhorting them to 
 an unceasing application to the culture of the lands, 
 by the produce of which foreigners would be at- 
 tracted to their ports, to enter into an exchange for 
 the products of their own countries, as well as for 
 money, whereby their country would advance in 
 wealth, and themselves in happiness and prosperity. 
 Being uninformed as to the line of politics which 
 foreign countries might adopt towards them, he de- 
 clared it to be his wish to remain quiet until they 
 had made their decision, expressing a hope only 
 that it might be such as v/ould be favourable to 
 their commerce, and tend to cement an intercourse 
 founded on a basis of reciprocity. 
 
 The declaration often made by Christophe, that 
 he never would permit an interference with the co- 
 lonies of any European state, was often questioned 
 and never believed to be sincere; but an event 
 occurred which at once proved his sincerity, and 
 called forth the approbation of the British govern- 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 205 
 
 ment. Discovering that some individuals in the 
 southern parts of the island were intriguing with 
 those persons in the island of Jamaica who were 
 hostile to their government, he immediately arrested 
 them, and brought them to punishment for infring- 
 ing the declaration which he had so often made. 
 The British government viewed this act of Chris- 
 tophe in a very favourable light ; and in consequence 
 of his integrity, it permitted an intercourse with cer- 
 tain ports in Hayti, by an order of council of Fe- 
 bruary, 1807- This contributed greatly to increase 
 the commercial views of Christophe, and became of 
 considerable importance to the Haytians, as well as 
 beneficial to British merchants. 
 
 In the year 1811, Christophe was raised to the 
 throne, under the title of King Henry, an act 
 which seems to have had the approbation of the 
 majority, if not of the whole of his subjects who 
 were endowed with talents to discriminate. They 
 were of opinion that the conversion of the state into 
 a monarchy suited the exigences of the times, as 
 more likely to make them respected abroad, and 
 maintain their rights at home ; putting it ever out 
 of their consideration that it was an act only of gra- 
 titude, that they should manifest their sentiments of 
 attachment for one who had, through a long career 
 of war and desolation, rendered such important ser- 
 vices in the cause of liberty. 
 
 The act which raised him to the throne provided 
 
206 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIIT. 
 
 also for tlie establishment of the various offices of 
 state, and made other important arrangements for 
 the security of the crown, declared hereditary in the 
 family of Christophe, all of which met with a gene- 
 ral concurrence, and gave the fullest satisfaction to 
 the people. 
 
 I shall not pursue my narrative of the operations 
 of the respective chiefs who were now at the heads 
 of the governments of the north and the south, but 
 merely notice a few circumstances which appeared 
 most prominent in the proceedings of each. 
 
 About the period of the elevation of Christophe 
 to the throne of the northern part of Hay ti, a cessa- 
 'tion of hostilities between him and his rival took 
 place, through, it is generally believed, the interces- 
 sion of the British government, who interposed to 
 stop the further effusion of blood between the two 
 chieftains, and if possible to reconcile them to the 
 government of their respective divisions, without en- 
 croaching on each other, or without again exciting 
 that jealousy which had so long existed between 
 them. The application to the British government 
 to take upon itself directly the adjustment of their 
 differences, and to suggest a reconciliation on specific 
 terms, was entrusted to the charge of a British mer- 
 chant in the confidence of Petion, who, from his re- 
 verses, seemed to court a peace with his rival. Lord 
 Castlereagh, the then secretary of state for foreign 
 affairs in England, it is believed, declined to inter- 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 207 
 
 fere when applied to upon the subject, the nature of 
 the application being such as to preclude the British 
 cabinet taking any part in it. Petion solicited the 
 aid of England to preserve his dominions against 
 the encroachment of his rival, in return for which 
 he offered to place the trade of the British upon a 
 more favourable footing than that of any other na- 
 tion : motives however of a political urgency in the 
 then state of the colonies of Great Britain induced 
 his lordship to reject the proposition ; but it is un- 
 derstood, and I believe generally admitted, that 
 there was an indirect suggestion made to Christophe 
 to suspend hostilities, and which succeeded; for we 
 do not perceive that any acts of aggression were sub- - 
 sequently committed by either chief. It is also true 
 ^;hat Petion lowered the imposts on British goods 
 imported into his country from 12 to 7 per cent, 
 giving them a preference of 5 per cent, over those 
 of other neutral nations. 
 
 Hostilities having been suspended, both these 
 chiefs began to turn their attention towards the im- 
 provement of their dominions, and to use every 
 possible effort for the encouragement of agricul- 
 ture and commerce ; but they certainly pursued 
 quite opposite courses to attain their end; and in a 
 few years it was evident, that the one who adopted a 
 system of rigid enforcement raised his country into 
 affluence, whilst the other who submitted to tlie in- 
 dolent hal)its of his people, and was regardless of 
 
208 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIll. 
 
 the consequences that would ensue from too great a 
 supmeness and hiactivity, sunk it mto the lowest 
 state of poverty, and was necessitated to resort to 
 measures which finally proved its ruin. I shall offer 
 a few remarks on the respective characters of these 
 two individuals, by way of shewing their different 
 ideas of the people whom they governed, and of the 
 most effectual way of raising their country to wealth 
 and prosperity. 
 
 Christophe, there is no doubt, was the most con- 
 versant with the real character and disposition of 
 his countrymen. He was sensibly impressed with 
 the idea, that to govern them, it would be requisite 
 and imperative to resort to strong and powerful 
 measures, and not to proceed by slow and easy de- 
 grees : he knew that if he were once to relax in his 
 authority, and permit them to pursue their own 
 course, indolence would become so deeply rooted, 
 that to obtain any exertions from them hereafter, 
 would prove a most Herculean task, and in all pro- 
 bability lay the foundation of much irritation, if not 
 of disturbance. He was persuaded therefore, that, 
 before it would be possible to raise his country in 
 wealth and in happiness, an implicit obedience to 
 such regulations as he should deem adviseable, must 
 be enforced ; that if the people were left to their 
 own free agency, from their innate love of indolence, 
 nothing could be obtained from them : they would 
 wander about quite unconcerned for to-morrow, sa- 
 
CHAT. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 209 
 
 tisfied with that which the day had produced. He 
 knew that the negro race were prone to idleness and 
 addicted to lust and sensuality ; that they were ig- 
 norant of the duties of civilized life, and of the ties 
 which bound them together; and it was a matter of 
 the first importance for the consideration of those 
 who were to direct the affairs of state, to devise the 
 means by which they should be taught their duty to 
 their country ; that idleness and concupiscence were 
 vices of the worst cast ; and that unless an upright 
 and moral course were pursued, they could neither 
 expect improvement in their individual condition, 
 nor advance themselves in the opinions of mankind. 
 To accomplish these objects, he was fully aware, or, 
 at all events, his advisers had made him sensible of 
 it, would be a work of no ordinary difficulty, and that 
 unless obedience could be legally exacted, and the 
 people compelled to the performance of all civil ob- 
 ligations, it would only be a waste of time to attempt 
 to rule, or to endeavour to place the government on 
 a solid and permanent foundation. 
 
 With such impressions as these, Christophe and 
 his council and advisers set about a work, which, 
 whatever may be said of them as legislators, exhibits 
 no little share of talent and judgment. His Code 
 Henry made its appearance in 1812; it is a digest 
 of the laws passed for the government of the king- 
 dom, and seems to have provided for every class of 
 oifences. Some of its laws are new, and others are 
 
 p 
 
210 TRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 founded upon the laws of his predecessors, with such 
 judicious curtaihuents or additions as circumstances 
 seemed to require. Those of agriculture and com- 
 merce are decidedly such as were in force in the time 
 of Toussaint and Dessalines; and as they were effec- 
 tual, and tended highly to augment those sources of 
 national wealth, it displayed great discernment and 
 discretion in Christophe to adopt them as part of his 
 code. 
 
 With this shield for the executive administration 
 of the government, Christophe began to exact a 
 due observance of all those measures likely to be 
 beneficial to his country. He enforced attention to 
 agriculture, encouraged commerce with foreigners, 
 whom he led to his ports by extensive purchases of 
 their commodities to supply the wants of his govern- 
 ment, and he made rapid strides towards the ad- 
 vancement of education by establishing schools for 
 the instruction of youth, and by inviting men of 
 learning and talents from all countries, for the pur- 
 pose of presiding at the head of the institutions which 
 he had formed for the promotion of science. His 
 regulations unquestionably display sound views of 
 policy, which ought to have ensured the welfare of 
 the country, together with the security and happi- 
 ness of its people. 
 
 It has been often asserted that the negroes are as 
 capable of receiving instruction in morality, religion, 
 and every branch of science, as the people of any 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAIXT DOMINGO. 211 
 
 Other nation or colour. This I shall not attempt to 
 deny; but it may not be improper to say that very 
 few instances have yet been adduced to support such 
 a theory, and that Hayti is an illustration of the 
 contrary being the fact; for with all the advantages, 
 with all the opportunities which Christophe afforded 
 his people to improve their minds, and to seek for 
 knowledge in the various branches of science, very 
 few indeed have been found who have raised them- 
 selves above mediocrity, whilst thousands have been 
 found incapable of tuition, or have rejected instruc- 
 tion altogether. 
 
 Mazeres, in speaking of them, says, " The negro 
 is only a grov/n child, shallow, light, fickle, thought- 
 less, neither keenly sensible of joy or of sorrow, im- 
 provident, without resources in his spirits or his soul. 
 Careless, like other sluggards; rest, singing, his 
 women, and his dress form the contracted limits of 
 his taste. I say nothing of his affections, for affec- 
 tions, properly so called, are too strong for a soul so 
 soft, so inactive as his." * 
 
 On the subject of public instruction, which, the 
 same writer contends, can never be introduced into 
 Hayii, because there cannot be found people to com- 
 prehend its true virtues, he says, " There cannot be 
 found throughout the dominions of Christophe ten 
 men who can read fluently; and there certainly 
 
 * Letter to Sismondc. 
 
 p2 
 
212 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 cannot be found one sufficiently learned to compre- 
 hend the meaning of the words military tactics, 
 geography, mathematics, fortification, &C.'''' 
 
 Mazeres is certainly not altogether wrong; his 
 observations in the first paragraph are correct, with 
 the exception of his opinion of the affections of the 
 negro. It must, I think, be admitted that the affec- 
 tions of the negro race are somewhat warm and un- 
 alloyed; and in no instance are they so feelingly il- 
 lustrated as in the solicitude evinced by the negro 
 for his offspring. To his children his attachment 
 is strong and unalienable ; and he displays it on 
 leaving his home with the greatest fervour, and on 
 his return with every mark of gratitude and joy. 
 Mazeres would wish to sink the affections of the 
 neo-ro to a condition below the instinct of the brute 
 creation ; but that he is wrong I can pronounce from 
 experience, not only in Hayti, but in other quarters 
 in which that species of the human race exists. In 
 his second paragraph, he has gone too far in saying, 
 not " ten men can read fluently"'; but if he had as- 
 serted that, at the period of the revolution, when the 
 first acts of rebellion commenced, a few only could 
 " read fluently," I think he would not have been 
 wrong, for I do not find that among the blacks, at 
 that period, any were at all learned, or had any 
 skill or knowledge in those branches of science which 
 he particularizes. This is exempUfied in Toussaint, 
 Dessalines, and Christophe, not one of whom, at the 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 213 
 
 commencement of the struggle, had been instructed 
 in even the common branches of education. Dessa- 
 lines in particular could neither read nor write, with 
 the simple exception of signing his name. All the 
 three chiefs were indebted to foreigners for the ele- 
 gant style of language in which their proclamations 
 were written; and it is too great a stretch of vanity 
 and egotism to attribute them to the citizens of the 
 country, when it is so notorious that most of those 
 papers which issued from the bureau of Christophe, 
 and from the bureau of Count Limonde, were writ- 
 ten by Europeans, whom the former had admitted 
 into his confidence, and who were consulted by the 
 latter on all occasions of importance. Baron Dupuy 
 was doubtless a man well qualified for the office he 
 held as secretary to the king (Christophe), and to 
 whom has been given the credit of many of the state 
 papers of his sable majesty, and I know that such a 
 compliment is no more than what is justly due to his 
 talents ; but were he present, he would declare that 
 he derived the highest possible assistance, in his pro- 
 ductions, from one or two foreigners who were ac- 
 quainted with the technicalities of official corre- 
 spondence, to which the Baron had not been accus- 
 tomed, and who therefore generally undertook to 
 correct any part of it that required such labour. 
 
 Baron de Vastey, who is a warm advocate for the 
 genius and talents of his countrymen, and exceed- 
 ingly severe upon the opinion of Mazeres, says. 
 
214 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [ciIAF. VIII. 
 
 " Sec the grown cliiklrcii planning the construction 
 of impregnable fortresses, building palaces, calcu- 
 lating almanacks, possessing black writers, poets, and 
 ministers of state." Now I really have not been 
 able to discover where these impregnable fortresses, 
 planned by Haytians, are to be found. I believe 
 that when the Baron v/rote there was not one single 
 fortification erected from the design of a Haytian ; 
 they were the old works of the French repaired, 
 where such repairs were wanted. The Citadel 
 Henry, or Fort Ferrier, is the only new fortress of 
 which I have heard, and that was not constructed 
 from the design of a Haytian, but from the plan of a 
 British officer, from whom it takes one of its appella- 
 tions, Ferrier. The same thing is true with respect 
 to the palace Sans Souci. The only merit to which 
 the Haytians can lay claim, in the erection of 
 these works, is the preparing the materials, and the 
 labour of carrying them to the spot on which they 
 are built : for the whole of those materials for build- 
 ing which could not be obtained on the spot, were 
 carried from other parts on the shoulders of the 
 people, and Christophe compelled blacks and browns, 
 young and old, boys and girls, of all ages and de- 
 nominations of citizens, to perform that labour which 
 ought to have been performed by brutes. Young 
 and interesting girls were to be seen carrying bricks 
 or boards up the mountains, almost ready to sink 
 under their loads, followed by soldiers with fixed 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 215 
 
 bayonets or the sabre ; but on this subject both De 
 Vastey and Prmce Larnclers are silent. As to writers 
 and poets, I have only heard of those now men- 
 tioned, De Vastey and Larnders, except Chandlatte, 
 Count de .Roziers, who, I imagine, being something 
 of poet-laureate to the king, governor-general of the 
 play-house, prepared pieces for representation, teem- 
 ing with the most fulsome compliments to the mo- 
 narch's virtues, and wrote sonnets to the peerless 
 beauties of the queen and the princesses. Here, I 
 believe, ends the catalogue of architects, poets, and 
 writers of Hayti; and unless the Baron de Vastey 
 can adduce other proofs of Haytian capacities, I 
 must be excused if I still remain sceptical. I must 
 wait to see what time and a further intercourse with 
 the world will accomplish; at present but little of 
 that improvement manifests itself which has been 
 the subject of so much praise and admiration. That 
 the people of Hayti should improve, and that society 
 should become refined, I confess I wish may be rea- 
 lized, but at this moment it is very distant from it. 
 Christophe was particularly anxious to improve 
 the face of his country, by making every exertion 
 to divest it of all those appearances of dilapidation 
 effected during the war; and by commanding all the 
 nobility, and persons attached to the state, to erect 
 magnificent houses on their estates, and otherwise 
 to ornament the plantations in the vicinity of their 
 residences, so as to give the whole an air of grandeur 
 
21G PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 equal, if not superior, to former times; but in this 
 lie did not succeed, except in a few instances, the 
 poverty of the people who had been raised to their 
 new dignities, putting it out of their power to comply 
 with his demand. 
 
 After the fall of Bonaparte in 1814, the ministers 
 of Louis XVIII. sent out commissioners to Hayti 
 to try what could be accomplished by a negociation 
 with the two chiefs on the subject of the admission 
 of France to the sovereignty of the island. By these 
 emissaries an indirect menace was held out, forget- 
 ting that by harsh measures no good could be done. 
 De Medina, who was the commissioner deputed to 
 Christophe, had served in the army of Toussaint, 
 and afterwards betrayed his cause and joined Le 
 Clerc. Such an individual was an object of con- 
 siderable suspicion to Christophe, and from some 
 irregularity which ensued respecting the credentials 
 of Medina, he was arrested, and his papers seized. 
 On the examination of the papers, it was dis- 
 covered that his aim was to excite insurrection and 
 disorder among the people, and endeavour to prevail 
 upon them to recognize Louis XYIII. as their 
 sovereign, that monarch assuring them of his pater- 
 nal solicitude, and of his pledge that they should 
 retain their property and military rank. 
 
 Christophe brought Medina to trial, and he was 
 found guilty by a military tribunal of the charges 
 which had been alleged against him. He was com- 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 21? 
 
 mitted to the prison of the Cape, and it was said 
 died in confinement; but no accounts were given 
 afterwards respecting him, or of the fate which befcl 
 him. 
 
 Monsieur Lavaysse, who seems to have been the 
 chief commissioner, and who had at the same time 
 proceeded to Port au Prince, for the purpose of 
 carrying on a similar negociation with Petion, met 
 with no better success, — except that having been 
 more cautious he avoided the fate of Medina, — as 
 that chief was well informed of the nature of his 
 mission, and was prepared to give a decided negative 
 to the propositions of the French crown ; and the 
 rejection of his proposals was conveyed to M. La- 
 vaysse in a way very flattering to him, nothing being 
 evinced like the passion or violence exhibited by 
 Christophe during the progress of these negocia- 
 tions. 
 
 I happened to be in Jamaica at the time of the 
 arrival of the French commissioners, who touched 
 there on their passage for Hayti ; and I was often 
 in company with Lavaysse after his return from his 
 unsuccessful mission, and I heard him speak in high 
 terms of the conduct of Petion for promptness and 
 decision, whilst he was warm against the harshness 
 of Christophe. This however might have emanated 
 from the former offering to the French a pecuniary 
 indemnity for his dominions, although he would not 
 recognize France as having the sovereignty; whilst 
 
218 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 Clnistophe would receive no proposals from France 
 on the one hand, nor would he submit to any claim 
 for pecuniary compensation on the other. 
 
 After the failure of this mission, the French king 
 declared officially that Monsieur Lavaysse had ex- 
 ceeded the power which had been delegated to him ; 
 but such a disavowal had no effect on the people, who 
 were more determined than ever to resist the admis- 
 sion of French influence into the country. Other 
 attempts were afterwards made, and commissioners 
 were appointed to proceed to Hayti, with powers 
 from the king of France; but although they pro- 
 ceeded round the island, and sent letters on shore at 
 different places, yet they received no attention, and 
 consequently they thought it advisable to give up 
 the object of their mission as impracticable ; and I 
 believe no attempt was afterwards made during the 
 sway of either of these chiefs. 
 
 As Hayti might then be considered perfectly 
 secure of her independence, and as a strong feel- 
 ing pervaded the people of the north as well as the 
 south against the French, the tv/o governments, 
 although there had not been any relations of amity 
 established between them, proceeded in the work of 
 civilization and general improvement in their divi- 
 sions, without being apprehensive that their tran- 
 quillity would be interrupted by the encroachments of 
 either. Christophe was unquestionably, as has been 
 before observed, better qualified than his rival to gor 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAIKT DOMINGO. 219 
 
 vern a people like tlie Haytians, from his being na- 
 turally of a determined and resolute temper, and not 
 to be alarmed by the consequences of his measures, 
 however tyrannical, harsh, or oppressive; and there- 
 fore, aided as he was by men of capacity, he enforced 
 so rigid a system of government, and exacted from the 
 people so complete a submission to his will, that the 
 north, over which he reigned, presented an aspect of 
 affairs quite different from that of the south. Agri- 
 culture was smiling, the produce of the soil increas- 
 ing considerably, whilst commerce was making rapid 
 progress, and bidding fair to becom.e equally ad- 
 vantageous to the state. Both contributed to the 
 revenue, making it sufficiently ample for all the exi- 
 gences of government, and consequently there were 
 no calls upon the people of any importance in the 
 way of taxation. 
 
 The government of Petion, on the other hand, 
 relapsed into a system of relaxation which subse- 
 quently proved the bane of his country, and ulti- 
 mately brought upon him all those unhappy difficul- 
 ties which he experienced previously to his death. 
 After he had permitted his people to follow their 
 own indolent inclinations, and indulge in the pro- 
 pensities inherent in the negro race, he found it im- 
 possible to prosecute measures for the advancement 
 of the wealth and prosperity of his country similar 
 to those which his rival had so successfully pursued. 
 Agriculture had i^unk to the lowest possible ebb, the 
 
220 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 cultivators being allowed to follow their own inclina- 
 tions. Instead therefore of industry and a spirit of 
 emulation displaying itself throvigh his dominions, 
 scarcely any thing was to be seen but men and their 
 families indulging in idleness, and in those lusts and 
 vices which could only entail wretchedness on them- 
 selves, and poverty on their country. 
 
 Although Petion had laws, doubtless, by which he 
 might have enforced from the people the cultivation 
 of the soil, and prevented them leaving their plant- 
 ations, except on those days particularly enumerated, 
 yet he never seems to have attended to the spirit of 
 the laws and have insisted upon their due execu- 
 tion, but simply to have contented himself with the 
 mere letter, without in the least reflecting on the 
 serious consequences that would inevitably flow from 
 his want of that resolution and decision which formed 
 so prominent a feature in the character of Chris- 
 tophe. The mild and soft disposition of Petion dis- 
 qualified him to be the head of such a rude and un- 
 taught people as those over whom he was appointed 
 to preside. Par from possessing the unrelaxing and 
 unrelenting temper of his rival, he was kind, indul- 
 gent, and humane. Over a country so disorganized, 
 and over a people so prone to every vicious propen- 
 sity, and regardless of their own as well as the public 
 good, a man of more nerve, and not so sensible to the 
 finer feelings of our nature, would have been better 
 calculated for governing than President Petion, who, 
 
CHAP. Vlir.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 221 
 
 in the language of a writer on his country, was said 
 to be '' of a sensible and humane character; tutored 
 in the schools of Europe, his mind has received an 
 expansion that fits him for the helm of government, 
 and his exterior an address that would distinguish 
 him in a court. Ill suited perhaps to witness scenes 
 to which his station as a military commander ex- 
 poses him in the field of battle, the tear of sensibility 
 often bedews his cheek at the sight of slaughter, and 
 though brave, enterprising, and bold, he values more 
 the responsive glow of a humane act than the crim- 
 soned laurel he has plucked from the brow of his 
 adversary. He sighs at the purchase of victory with 
 the sacrifice of those subjects whom he loves : in 
 short, nothing can be more descriptive of his pecu- 
 liar virtues than the motto of an English artist at 
 the foot of his portrait — ' II n'a jamais fait couler 
 les larmes de personne.''"* 
 
 The character given of Petion by Mr. Walton, 
 I have heard confirmed by all classes of people in 
 Hayti, and by those who are well versed in the 
 dispositions of their countrymen ; whilst admitting 
 it, however, they were not backward in expressing 
 their opinion that he was of too easy and too lenient 
 a temper to enforce those measures which the exi- 
 gences of the government so loudly and impera- 
 tively called for. Through such leniency and indul- 
 
 * Walton, VoU I. 
 
222 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAr. VIII. 
 
 geiicc, therefore, liis country relaxed to an alarm- 
 ing degree in both agriculture and commerce, and 
 he was driven, for the purpose of supplying the 
 wants of government, to means which, although 
 they brought temporary relief, were finally most 
 baneful and ruinous. The revenue arising from the 
 produce of the soil was small, from his not enforcing 
 the culture of it to that extent which he might have 
 done, considering the strength of the population ; 
 and the imposts on foreign manufactures fell in- 
 finitely below his estimation, from the reduction of 
 the duties on British goods, and from the little en- 
 couragement given to foreigners by the diminished 
 means of the people to purchase their commodities. 
 Had he pursued the same coercive system which 
 his rival Christophe adopted; had he compelled 
 his people to cultivate their lands, by which his 
 means of export would have been much increased ; 
 and had he enforced from the proprietors of the 
 soil a strict attention to its cultivation, instead of 
 allowing them to indulge in the most sensual ap- 
 petites which can disgust our feelings, he would 
 have aggrandized his country, and have raised it to 
 the summit of affluence and prosperity. Had he 
 taught the people to know artificial wants, and en- 
 couraged a desire for luxuries, he would have in- 
 creased the resources of his country, and the 
 burthens of the people would not have been heavier. 
 The means for supporting the state would have 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 223 
 
 been indirect, and consequently would not have 
 excited any discontent ; which his successor has ex- 
 perienced in no ordinary a degree. From these 
 sources, therefore, forming, as I believe they do, the 
 principal sources of revenue in all countries, he ob- 
 tained much less than the extent of his dominions 
 led him to anticipate, and consequently he became 
 greatly involved, and was necessitated to devise 
 other means of supporting his government. 
 
 The first thing which was suggested was a ficti- 
 tious or debased currency, which in the opinions of 
 most people is very little better than swindling 
 under the sanction of government ; especially a 
 government like that of Petion, reduced to so low 
 an ebb as to have been without a dollar in its trea- 
 sury, and without any ostensible means of bettering 
 its miserable condition, or adding to its pecuniary 
 means. Every country has probably a fictitious cir- 
 culating medium, and I shall not condemn it, or ques- 
 tion its propriety, when the country is capable of re- 
 deeming it at any specific period, or at its pleasure : 
 but when a country like Hayti has recourse to a 
 debased currency, it is very little better than an im- 
 position. Petion was without the means of raising 
 money, even upon the demesnes of government, for 
 the exigences of the state, so that it was impossible 
 for him to hold out any security to the people, that 
 his fictitious coin Avould be called in at any distant 
 period, unless he did so at a very large discount. 
 
224} PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 He issued in the first instance three millions of dol- 
 lars in value in pieces of metal, a composition of 
 about nineteen parts of tin and one part silver, and 
 subsequently a further issue of a million of dollars 
 in value. This measure of temporary relief proved 
 a serious injury to his country, for it not only enabled 
 him to carry on the business of his government for 
 a time without any calls on the people, which, in its 
 then impoverished condition, was exceedingly im- 
 provident, but it was the occasion of a great con- 
 sternation among the foreign merchants whom he 
 had induced to settle in his dominions, and who from 
 great apprehension of the consequences began to look 
 around them and to confine their commercial opera- 
 tions within very contracted limits. They lost their 
 confidence in the stability of the government, and 
 consequently, as their importations gradually fell off, 
 the revenue fell infinitely short of the anticipated 
 returns. 
 
 He commenced also another system, which 
 proved exceedingly injurious to his finances, and 
 I cannot see how he could have contemplated any 
 other result. For the encouragement of the agri- 
 culturists, the government, whenever the price of 
 the several products were low, bought very largely 
 of some of them, for the purpose of raising their 
 value, by which impolitic measure, they not only 
 lost considerably by their trading system, but it 
 had a most pernicious effect in driving foreigners 
 
CHAP. VITI.] OE SAIXT DOMIXGO. 225 
 
 out of the market, who would alv/ays cease to buy 
 the moment the government attempted to raise the 
 market value beyond what the value in the Euro- 
 pean markets warranted. Of these speculations of 
 the government I had some little knowledge in my 
 mercantile capacity in Jamaica, for it was through 
 that island that most of Petion's government pro- 
 duce found its way to England ; and on the esti- 
 mated value of it, very large sums in specie were 
 sent to Port au Prince from Jamaica, the moment 
 the proper documents of its being shipped were re- 
 ceived. These measures of the government were 
 -exceedingly injudicious, for it raised the price of 
 their products so much above the European markets, 
 that the foreign merchants could not think of touch- 
 ing them ; and it finally proved the most injurious 
 system that could ever have been devised for up- 
 holding the exigences of any government. Had 
 he enforced those laws which had been passed for 
 the cultivation of the soil, and put all the estates 
 of the government into tillage, and conducted them 
 upon a judicious principle of management, as his 
 rival Christophe had done in the north, all his 
 wants would have been supplied, the distresses 
 under which he daily laboured would have been 
 averted, and his treasury, like Christophe's, would 
 have been always liberally replenished, without ob- 
 liging him to resort to ways and means which proved 
 in the end so injurious to him. It is therefore 
 
 a 
 
226 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 evident that Petion was not calculated to govern a 
 people like the Haytians. His mildness of temper 
 would never allow him to adopt coercive measures to 
 raise his country to opulence; he restrained those 
 who were disposed to insist on the cultivators doing 
 their duty as pointed out by the law for the encou- 
 ragement of agriculture. 
 
 To this Christophe was the very reverse, for he 
 not only called upon the magistrates and other of- 
 ficers to see the law for the cultivation of the soil 
 rigidly executed, and take into custody all those who 
 committed the least breach, but, daily accompanied 
 by his staff, he absolutely rode personally to dif- 
 ferent parts to ascertain whether the cultivators were 
 doing their duty. He well knew those whom he had 
 to govern, and also that were he once to allow them 
 to give way to their love for indolence, it would in 
 time become invincible, and therefore he adhered to 
 the old rule, that a preventive is better than a cure. 
 The consequences were, that from his system of co- 
 ercion the calls of his government were provided for, 
 the people individually advanced in wealth and se- 
 curity, and the cultivators, who would otherwise have 
 been in a state of sloth and misery, disease and 
 wretchedness, lived well, and were contented. The 
 condition of cultivators under Petion''s mild govern- 
 ment, and under whom there was no such thing as 
 coercion, presented a striking and instructive con- 
 trast ; indolent and unconcerned, they passed their 
 
CHAP. VITI,] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 227 
 
 time like animals without the least exertion, and with- 
 out a thought beyond the supply of their immediate 
 wants; and those wants being provided for, they 
 again sunk into apathy and indifference. Lust and 
 every vicious propensity obtained an unlimited sway 
 over them, and to feed their sensual appetites and 
 satiate their brutal passions seemed to form the only 
 object which they studied. Disease became preva- 
 lent, poverty accompanied it in all its ravages, and a 
 more wretched, miserable race of human beings could 
 not have been selected than might be seen in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country over which the sensible 
 and humane Petion ruled. 
 
 This was the state of the country over which 
 Petion presided previously to his death, which la- 
 mentable event took place on the 29th of March, 
 1818, after an illness of no long duration, but at- 
 tended with circumstances that excited the greatest 
 sympathy for his sufferings. It was generally ad- 
 mitted that the state of his country had produced 
 an extraordinary depression of spirits, which no 
 exertions of his most intimate friends could remove. 
 Medical aid became unavailing, he lingered, but 
 without, it appears, enduring any pain, and at last 
 sunk under the weight of accumulated distress of 
 mind, brought on by the deranged state of his fi- 
 nances and the impoverished condition of his country. 
 Petion was undoubtedly a good man, and greatly 
 beloved by his people, who valued him for his mild 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 PItESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 and inoffensive manners, and for the courtly and 
 unassuming conduct which he always manifested ta 
 every one who approached him. The day on which 
 he died the people assembled in the square opposite 
 to the government-house, waiting with the most 
 painful anxiety to learn if all hopes of his recovery 
 had vanished, and towards twelve o'*clock at night, 
 when the gun fired to announce that he was no 
 more, the cries and moans of all classes were heard 
 through the different streets as they were verging 
 towards the square. 
 
 This was not the most dreadful part, nor that 
 which excited the greatest anxiety ; those inha^ 
 bitants who had experienced the changes which 
 had taken place during the time of Dessalines, 
 and had seen the massacres of that wretch, began 
 to fear a similar catastrophe during the interreg- 
 num, from the rude state of the negro population, 
 from their relaxed state of morals, and from a 
 spirit of ungovernable insubordination, fostered by 
 the ill-judged mildness and leniency of the late 
 President. The foreign merchants were alarmed, 
 and apprehensive also of confusion as well as the 
 probability of the destruction of their property; 
 their fears in this respect were however fortunately 
 unfounded, as nothing occurred which indicated the 
 least disposition towards hostility and molestation, 
 Petion had designed Boyer for his successor, who was 
 immediately after his decease accordingly declared 
 
€HAP. Vlll.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 2^9 
 
 President in the customary form, and took upon 
 himself the administration of the g(wernment. 
 
 At the death of Petion, Christophe indicated no 
 wish to interfere with the election of Boyer, who pre- 
 served the tranquillity of his dominions. Christophe 
 was still pursuing his system of aggrandizement, and 
 had realized a very large sum of money in his trea- 
 sury, with which he contemplated the purchase of the 
 Spanish territory and to annex it to his dominions ; 
 and for this purpose he had actually commenced a 
 negotiation through the agency of some powerful in- 
 dividuals in London. This design unquestionably 
 evinced great judgment, for it would have given him 
 a decided superiority over the southern government, 
 and he could have menaced all their points, and 
 having a larger force would have been able to make 
 considerable impression on their principal posts of 
 defence; but his death, which took place in October 
 1820, put an end to the negotiation, and esta- 
 blished the union between the north and south, 
 uniting them in one government, designated " The 
 Republic of Hayti." 
 
 The system pursued by Christophe had become 
 too despotic for the people ; exceeding the bounds 
 of prudence, his ambition had no limits, and his 
 tyranny and oppression became at last so insupport- 
 able that neither the people nor his troops would 
 any longer submit to his power and caprice. A 
 revolution ensued which began with the revolt of 
 
230 PllESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. VIII. 
 
 the garrison of St. jVIarc, the commandant of which 
 sent a courier to Bo} er to inform him of the event, 
 and of the wish of the people to place themselves 
 under his government. Shortly after, the city of 
 Cape Haytian followed the example, and the troops 
 were preparing to march against Christophe who 
 was confined by sickness at Sans Souci. His guards 
 now revolted, and finding all chance of escape im- 
 possible, he shot himself with a pistol in his own 
 chamber. His sons were killed by the troops, as 
 well as several of his officers of state who were ob- 
 noxious to the people and the soldiers. His eldest 
 son, it was said, exhibited the most abject submis- 
 sion, and begged them to save his life ; whilst his 
 youngest defended himself with great heroism, kill- 
 ing several of the soldiers, but was at last cut down 
 and shockingly mangled. 
 
 His wife and daughters were spared through the 
 interference of Boyer, who sent them to Port au 
 Prince by water, vy^ith instructions that they should 
 be particularly protected, and not disturbed by the 
 citizens ; and after his return to the city, permis- 
 sion was given them to leave the country, which 
 they accepted, and sailed for England, where they 
 were received, by those persons who were admirers 
 of Christophe, with some respect and attention. A 
 small estate was secured to them, and Madame 
 Christophers jewels, which were valuable, were re- 
 stored to her, and I have reason to believe that 
 
CHAP. VIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 231 
 
 she is in possession of an income which, although 
 not splendid, is quite enough for the purposes of 
 genteel life. She was considered a good and humane 
 woman, and often softened the anger of her hus- 
 band, who was addicted to sudden gusts of passion, 
 and to the infliction of punishment with unjust se- 
 verity. But notwithstanding his impetuosity of 
 temper, he was the only man who was competent 
 to preside over a people in the state of ignorance in 
 which his subjects were. He not only possessed the 
 discernment necessary to discriminate between that 
 which was advantageous to his country and that 
 which was injurious to his interest, but he had the 
 courage and resolution to enforce the one and pre- 
 vent the other. Had Christophe lived he would 
 have raised his country in affluence and in civiliza- 
 tion, but his death has sunk the former, and re- 
 tarded the latter ; and the people, now left to pursue 
 with an unlimited range their own propensities, will 
 dwindle again into that condition of ignorance 
 which is characteristic of the early periods of the 
 revolution. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Boyer elected president. — His character. — Revolution 
 in the north — annexed to the south. — Revolution in Spa- 
 nish part. — Union of the whole. — Measures pursued 
 after. — Overtures to France. — Arrival of French fleet. 
 — Negotiation and independence. — Baron Mackau. — 
 Dissatisfaction prevails. — British consul-general. — Fur- 
 ther dissatisfaction. — Determination not to pay the 
 indemnity. — Voluntary loan attempted — it fails. — Ob- 
 servations on the inefficiency of government. — State 
 of the military. — Naval force, etc. 
 
 Jean Pierre Boyer, wlio succeeded the late pre- 
 sident, Petion, and who consequently became chief 
 of the countries of his predecessor and of Christophe 
 united, is a native of Port au Prince, and is about 
 forty-eight or fifty years of age. He is a mulatto, 
 but somewhat darker than the people of that class. 
 His father, a man of good repute and possessed 
 of some wealth, was a store-keeper and a tailor in 
 that city. His mother was a negress of the Congo 
 country in x\frica, and had been a slave in the 
 neighbourhood. He joined the cause of the Com- 
 missioners Santhonax and Polverel, with whom he 
 retired, after the arrival of the English, to Jacmcl, 
 when he joined General Rigaud, whom he accom- 
 panied to France, after the fjubmi^sion of the south 
 
CUAV. IX.] PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. 233 
 
 to the authority of Toussamt. On his voyage 
 thither he was captured by the Americans, during 
 the short dispute between France and the United 
 States, and after the adjustment of the differences 
 between those two powers he was released. Having 
 resided in France some time, he, with many other 
 persons of colour, attached himself to the expe- 
 dition of Le Clerc, and accompanied that arma- 
 ment for the subjugation of the colony : but on 
 the death of that general, he joined Petion, who 
 successively appointed him to be his aid-de-camp, 
 private secretary, chief of his staff, general of the 
 arrondissement of Port au Prince, and finally 
 named him for his successor in the presidential 
 chair. 
 
 Boyer is below the middle size, and very slender; 
 his visage is far from being pleasing, but he has a 
 quick eye, and makes a good use of it, for it is in- 
 cessantly in motion. His constitution is weak, and 
 he is afflicted with a local disease, which compels 
 him to be exceedingly abstemious. He is fond of 
 parade and exterior ornaments, as is the custom of 
 the country, but he does not display his propensi- 
 ties for them, except in compelling those of his 
 staff and household to appear in all their embellish- 
 ments. He is but little seen among his people, 
 except on a Sunday, when he appears at the head 
 of his troops, and after reviewing them he rides 
 through the city, attended by a cortege of officers 
 
234 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 and guards. He is exceedingly vain of his person, 
 and imagines that it is attractive and captivating, 
 and that his manners are irresistible. 
 
 I shall now proceed to notice a few of the pro- 
 ceedings of Boyer after his elevation to the supreme 
 command in the republic. 
 
 I remarked in the last chapter, that the com- 
 mander of the troops of Christophe at St. Marc, 
 on finding that his soldiers had determined on a 
 revolt, had sent to inform Boyer of the circum- 
 stance, and invited him to proceed to that place 
 and take possession of it. No sooner had Boyer 
 received this intimation than he made prepara- 
 tions to march into the north. He took only a few 
 troops, consisting of his horse and foot guards, 
 being aware that there would be no resistance 
 to his advance, and that the people were ready to 
 submit to him without any opposition. This was 
 pleasing to the president, who, as it has been 
 observed before, never shewed any disposition for 
 hostile measures, and that fighting was a trade 
 to which he was unaccustomed, and for which he 
 had no predilection. On his arrival at St. Marc, 
 he received the submission of the inhabitants, and 
 was joined by the revolted troops of Christophe; 
 and he also received information of the death of 
 that chief, and that General Paul Romain, Prince 
 du Limbc, had declared for the republic. He had 
 therefore nothing to apprehend from any interrup- 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 235 
 
 tion likely to be given to his advance. On tlie 21st 
 of October, 1820, he entered Gonaives, which 
 received him without any opposition, and on the 
 22d he proceeded for the city of Cape Haytian, and 
 the capital of Christophe, the inhabitants of which 
 had made great preparations to receive him ; he 
 entered it the same night at the head of 20,000 
 men, and on the 26th he was proclaimed presi- 
 dent of the north. General Romain called upon the 
 people to receive the president with every demon- 
 stration of joy, and to acknowledge the people of 
 the south as true Haytians and brothers, with the 
 usual salutations of " Long live the Republic of 
 Hay ti ! " " Independence, Liberty, and Equality ! " 
 and " President Boyer!" 
 
 After the first acclamations of the people had in 
 some measure subsided, Boyer, by the advice of 
 his officers and the chief people of the north, began 
 to make such arrangements for incorporating the 
 north with the southern government as were requi- 
 site and imperative for the better administration of 
 the united districts. The troops of Christophe were 
 also removed from their stations to others in the 
 south, whilst those of the south, in some cases, suc- 
 ceeded them : and those general officers who had 
 taken prominent parts in bringing about the re- 
 volution were confirmed in their rank ; but as the 
 government was republican, all distinctions of title 
 were abolished, and the designation of citizen was 
 
23C PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 adopted, as in the south. Some of those who were 
 raised to titles by Christophe, and had survived 
 the revolution, were well pleased to be disrobed of 
 the trappings of nobility, because it entailed upon 
 them an expenditure beyond their scanty means. 
 The Baron Dupuy told me that he was pleased 
 with the designation of citizen, whilst the appella- 
 tion of baron had always sounded disagreeably to 
 him. Noble distinctions, he said, suited those 
 only whose conduct was noble, and who had by their 
 virtues truly earned them. For his part he was 
 not aware that he had accomplished any thing that 
 ought to have raised him above his fellow-citizens. 
 There is reason to fear that the Baron Dupuy was 
 the only man in Hayti possessing such modest and 
 unassuming ideas. 
 
 After the events of the revolution in the north, 
 and the arrangements for the government of that dis- 
 trict had been completed, Boyer made preparations 
 for his return to Port au Prince. Elated with suc- 
 cess, and vain of what he termed his unexampled 
 career of glory derived from the downfal of his rival 
 chief, he signified a wish that his entrance into the 
 city of government should be attended with some 
 pomp and demonstrations of joy suitable to the 
 occasion. Accordingly, those of his suite who 
 knew that nothing could be more gratifying to the 
 president than show and parade, prepared for a 
 triumphant entry, and at the northern gate an arch 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 237 
 
 was constructed and ornamented with a variety of 
 devices celebrating his victory. But it having been 
 communicated to Boyer anonymously, that some 
 disaffected individuals were conspiring to shoot him 
 as he passed through this arch, he arrived at the 
 government house by a circuitous route, before the 
 whole was completed, and without the knowledge 
 of the populace. He began to make some inquiry re- 
 specting the intelligence he had received, but it was 
 soon suspended, as it was suggested by his chief 
 officers that he would be acting wisely not to pro- 
 secute it further, as it might tend to fan the flame 
 of disaffection rather than smother it. 
 
 The union of the north effected by this revolu- 
 tion, did not seem at all gratifying to the people of 
 the south, as they had imbibed a great dislike to the 
 inhabitants under Christophers government, from 
 the civil feuds that had existed, and by which their 
 lives and property had so often been in jeopardy. 
 
 The revolution in the north was followed by a 
 similar event in the eastern or Spanish part, which 
 took place at the end of the succeeding year. The 
 first symptoms of the latter manifested itself in the 
 city of Santo Domingo, the capital of the east. A 
 deputation formed of the principal inhabitants wait- 
 ed on President Boyer at Port au Prince, and ten- 
 dered the submission of the people of the east to 
 the republic, and soliciting that their country might 
 be incorporated with it. 
 
238 niESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 Boyer no sooner received the communications of 
 the deputies, than he began to march a force towards 
 the Spanish frontiers, which he immediately fol- 
 lowed with his staff; the whole as they advanced 
 receiving on their route the congratulations of the 
 inhabitants and expressions of good will and pros- 
 perity to the republic. In the Spanish part at this 
 time there were a great many of the Haytians who 
 had taken up their residence as cultivators, and had 
 made some progress in their little plantations ; these 
 with the people of colour formed the largest propor- 
 tion of the inhabitants ; and when the measure of 
 union with their western islanders was first sug- 
 gested by the leading men in the city of Santo 
 Domingo, a ready acquiescence was shewn by them, 
 and a wish expressed that it should be proposed to 
 Boyer without delay. On the arrival of the pre- 
 sident in the city, the people displayed their satis- 
 faction at being united to his government, and he 
 with the same manifestations of pleasure assured 
 them of his protection and good will. Such arrange- 
 ments as were adviseable for the future government 
 of the east were made without much delay, and 
 General Borjellas was left in command of the city, 
 and to carry into effect those plans which had been 
 determined upon by the president and the people. 
 
 By the annexation of the eastern part therefore, 
 the whole island became subject to one government. 
 From Cape Tiburon to Cape Sumana, and from 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 239 
 
 Cape Nicolas Mole to Cape Engano, the power of 
 Beyer extended, leaving no competitor to disturb 
 his arrangements, nor to attempt to defeat those 
 views which he contemplated for the preservation 
 and repose of his dominions. 
 
 That a work of such magnitude should have been 
 accomplished in so short a period, and without even 
 the loss of blood and lives, seems more like the effect 
 of magic than the result of the efforts of man ; and 
 so exceedingly vain was Boyer of the event, that 
 he was known to declare that he thought himself 
 like Bonaparte, and that he was endowed with almost 
 supernatural power, and an agent of the Divine will 
 to scourge those who had previously oppressed the 
 people. He believes nothing to be the result 
 of chance, or the effect of time and misrule ; and 
 arrogates to himself the capacity of accomplishing 
 any thing which he may design and wish to exe- 
 cute. 
 
 After having reduced the whole island quite 
 under his subjection, it was thought that Boyer 
 would take into his immediate consideration its 
 condition so far as regarded agi'iculture, com- 
 merce, and finance; and that he would resort to 
 wise and judicious means by which the prosperity 
 of the whole would be greatly promoted : that 
 he would infuse a spirit of emulation into the cul- 
 tivators, because there was nothing to interrupt 
 their tranquillity, and they miglit pursue their 
 
240 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [ciTAP. IX. 
 
 labour unmolested and undisturbed. But this was not 
 done; he seemed to be quite insensible to the good 
 effects that would result from the encouragement 
 of agricultural labour ; and his people became so 
 perfectly obstinate and indolent, that nothing could 
 be obtained from them. Commerce also, which in 
 the time of Petion began to decline, grew worse, 
 and as the country produced but little, the people 
 had the means of supplying but few wants : in fact 
 it appeared very evident that Boyer wished to adopt 
 a system of governing different from that which had 
 been pursued by any of his predecessors. His plan 
 has been to keep his people ignorant of artificial 
 wants. By this means he expects the more easily 
 to obtain from the produce of the soil the supplies 
 required for the wants of government : in this he 
 persists against all the suggestions of those persons 
 who are capable of pointing out the disadvantages 
 that must accrue from this line of policy. Finding 
 his wants great, and that he had no means of sup- 
 plying them from the products of the soil, or from 
 the revenue arising from his commercial intercourse, 
 he was driven to a fresh issue of debased coin, and 
 to the project of working the mines in the different 
 parts of his dominions, forgetting that the finest 
 mine which Hayti possessed was in that soil, the 
 very rich and productive quality of which was the 
 theme of every man's praise. Nothing can shew 
 greater ignorance than considering gold and silver 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 241 
 
 as real, instead of artificial wealth ; or greater folly 
 than exploring mines, whilst agriculture is neglect- 
 ed. The issue of the debased coin must, some time 
 or other, be attended with all those evils which the 
 inability to redeem it at its full value will inevitably 
 bring on, and particularly in a country the inha- 
 bitants of which are in that very backward state of 
 knowledge, where its expediency, — if it could be 
 expedient to resort to an issue of it, — was beyond 
 their conception, or the nature of the loss caused 
 by it beyond their comprehension. 
 
 Another of Boyer's inconsistent projects was his 
 scheme for inducing France to recognize the inde- 
 pendence of his country. Of all the impolitic mea- 
 sures devised by man, this certainly must stand 
 preeminent for its folly ; by his countrymen it must 
 be deprecated as a wild scheme which will, in all 
 probability, involve the republic in many difficul- 
 ties. It is well known that on the 1st of January, 
 1804, Hayti was declared to be independent, since 
 which period no attempts had been made, or steps 
 taken by the government of France to reclaim it, ex- 
 cept the visit of the commissioners in 1814, whose 
 mission Louis the XVIIIth declared was under- 
 taken without the authority of the crown, and con- 
 sequently disavowed. So that in point of fact 
 no attempt had been made by France to reassert its 
 sovereignty over the island. Having therefore been 
 independent de facto for twenty-one years, and 
 
 R 
 
242 PUESr.XT STATE OF HAVTT, [cirAP. IX. 
 
 having, by repeated proclamations of the several 
 chiefs of government, and more particularly in the 
 fulsome gasconades of Boyer himself, exhibited an 
 unshaken spirit of hostility against French influ- 
 ence and French dominion, is it not the most un- 
 accountable occurrence in the annals of almost 
 any country, that overtures should have been made 
 to France, to recognize an independence already 
 established and tacitly admitted ? Could any man 
 in his senses, or set of men, have been so di- 
 vested of all reason, judgment, or penetration ? 
 And is it not a circumstance unparalleled in the 
 political history of any country in the world ? But 
 it is a fact, that the government of Hayti did in 
 May, 1824, send two agents, Rouanney and La 
 Rose, senators, to Paris, to negotiate for the recog- 
 nition of the independence of their country, openly 
 and avowedly admitting by it, that France still held 
 the sovereignty over it, and that it was to all intents 
 and purposes a colony, and an appendage to that 
 crown. These agents were empowered to offer a 
 very large pecuniary consideration, one hundred 
 millions of francs, with certain privileges of trade 
 over other nations ; but the offer was rejected, 
 and the agents ordered to quit the country without 
 delay. The French cabinet had now got the 
 thoughtless Haytian in the toil, and was determined 
 to secure him ; and no sooner was it known in 
 France that Boyer had granted to an English com- 
 
CHAP. TX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 243 
 
 paiiy the privilege of working the mines in the east- 
 em part of his dominions, and that other opera- 
 tions of a commercial nature would be connected 
 with it, than a fleet of fourteen sail of the line was 
 despatched under the command of Admirals Jarien 
 and Grivel, for the purpose of reducing the Hay- 
 tians to submission, and compelling them to acknow- 
 ledge France as holding a sovereign right over 
 them, or to accept of such terms for the recognition 
 of their independence as should be tendered. 
 
 In this fleet sailed the Baron Mackau, an oflicer 
 in the French navy, to whom was confided the bu- 
 siness of the negotiation on the part of the French 
 king; and certainly no man was better quahfied for 
 such an important trust. It would indeed have been 
 impossible for any one to have displayed more 
 adroitness and diplomatic skill, or have executed 
 his mission with more satisfaction to his country : 
 in fact, to use a nautical phrase, he got the weather- 
 gage of the conceited Haytian. 
 
 The baron, it appears, was not altogether con- 
 fined to pacific measures, for on his arrival in the 
 harbour of Port au Prince the fleet shewed symp- 
 toms of active work being in embryo, unless the 
 Haytians were disposed to submit to such terms as 
 might be offered. The admirals moored their ships 
 very judiciously abreast of the city, by which means, 
 if hostilities were unavoidable, they* might be able 
 to make such an impression on it, as should alarm 
 
 r2 
 
244 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. IX. 
 
 the people, and strike at once a decisive blow 
 against their capital. From the untenable state of 
 the several batteries and forts, any attempt at de- 
 fence would have been unavailing, for it is evident 
 that one line-of-battle ship could have demolished 
 the whole. The appearance of such a formidable 
 force before the city excited terror and constern- 
 ation ; the object it had in view was unknown, and 
 it was unlooked for; and from the weak and defence- 
 less condition of the city, every thing seemed hope- 
 less. 
 
 The president, all his officers of state, his troops, 
 and the inhabitants were alike in amazement ; and 
 his e.vceUe7icy, instead of setting an example of 
 confidence, and exhibiting that spirit which, as the 
 head of his country, he ought to have displayed, to 
 rouse the energies of his people for defence, sunk 
 into a half stupor, and absolutely shut himself up 
 in his chamber, or closet, with his mistress and 
 her children. His officers looked at each other 
 like men bereft of reason through sudden fright ; 
 and the troops — those soldiers who were to brave 
 every difficulty^ and defy the whole world, — 
 stood motionless, fearing that every moment would 
 bring the signal of attack from their enemy. The 
 women and children were sent off into the moun- 
 tains in irregular droves, resembling the flight of a 
 scared multitude, some with such articles as they 
 could carry, and others without any thing. Upon 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 245 
 
 the whole it is impossible to describe the panic which 
 the arrival of the French occasioned ; and I think 
 I may venture to assert, that President Boyer will 
 take great care that the Haytian historians shall not 
 record the event during his sway, lest they be too 
 minute in particularizing the conspicuous part he 
 bore, and the bravery which he displayed ! 
 
 When the whole fleet was safely moored, two 
 officers of the president's staff were despatched on 
 board to the commander-in-chief to ascertain the 
 object of their arrival, and they returned to the pre- 
 sident with communications from Baron Mackau, 
 explaining the nature of the mission with which he 
 was entrusted, assuring him that it was entirely 
 pacific, and that his master, the King of France, 
 actuated by the most philanthropic motives, and 
 in the spirit of the overtures which President Boyer 
 had previously made, had been induced to appoint 
 him as his representative to carry into effect such 
 arrangements with his subjects of Saint Domingo, 
 touching the recognition of their independence, as 
 should be consistent with the dignity of his crown 
 and the interests of his people. AVhen this was 
 announced to Boyer, he recovered somewhat from 
 the alarm into which he had been thrown, and once 
 more put on an appearance of confidence and reso- 
 lution. When he heard that the object of the mis- 
 sion was conciliatory, and that hostile measures 
 might be averted by submission to such propositions 
 
246 rilESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 as might be offered, his mind became tranquil, and 
 he at once determined, and his brave officers ap- 
 plauded him for his decision^ not to draw his 
 sword, but rather to try the effects of supplication 
 on the sensible mind of the French diplomatist. 
 
 The next day Baron Mackau landed under a 
 salute from the forts, and proceeded to the govern- 
 ment-house, where he was received by the president, 
 surrounded by the great officers of state and those 
 of his staff. The same evening he was closeted with 
 the president and the secretary-general Inginac 
 for a considerable time, and entered upon the sub- 
 ject of his mission. They came to no conclusion that 
 night, but the interview seemed to have been broken 
 off somewhat abruptly and unsatisfactorily to the 
 baron, who was necessitated to demand a prompt 
 decision, or he should be obliged to resort to those 
 measures for which he was so amply provided. The 
 Siime night, and immediately after the departure of 
 the baron to his hotel, a conference took place at the 
 bureau of the president between the secretary-general, 
 some members of the senate, and himself on the sub- 
 ject of the propositions, and it was determined that 
 another interview should take place the next day at 
 the secretary-generaFs house, and that he should be 
 deputed to make such arrangements as the exigence 
 of affairs required. The baron acquiesced in the 
 appointed meeting, and accordingly prepared him- 
 self to meet the secretary-general, but without any 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 247 
 
 disposition to relax in those demands which he had 
 made the night previous. The French cabinet, 
 it must be remarked, had provided the baron with 
 ordonnances of different degrees of propositions, al- 
 ready prepared for presentation, acceptation, and 
 signature, and with these he proceeded to the place 
 of interview, first presenting that which was most 
 favourable for his country, and lastly, the one 
 which the secretary-general Inginac, in the name of 
 the republic, deemed it adviseable to accept, and 
 by which, should its several clauses not be com- 
 plied with, Hayti is admitted to be a colony of 
 France. The ordonnance is dated in Paris on the 
 17th of April, 1825, and signed by the king, and 
 sets forth, that the ports in the French part of 
 St. Domingo shall be open to the commerce of all 
 nations; that the French ships and merchandize 
 shall be admitted into the French part on paying 
 only half the duties exacted from other nations, 
 and the same on the exports thence; that the inha- 
 bitants of the French part of Saint Domingo 
 agree to pay, in five annual instalments, the sum of 
 one hundred and fifty millions of francs as an in- 
 demnity for the losses of the ancient colonists ; and 
 that when the conditions of this ordonnance are fuL- 
 filled the French part of Saint Dorrmigo is de- 
 clared independent. When this ordonnance is par- 
 ticularly considered, it will be seen that France has 
 been admitted to the sovereignty of Hayti, and that 
 
248 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 President Boyer when he accepted it, recognized in 
 Charles the Xth his future sovereign, at once de- 
 claring himself to be only the nominal represent- 
 ative of that monarch, and by the most extraordinary 
 weakness and precipitancy assigns over the inde- 
 pendence of his country, at once annulling that 
 constitution framed by his predecessors, which says, 
 " never again shall a colonist or an European set 
 his foot upon this territory with the title of master 
 or proprietor." 
 
 The negotiations having been concluded on the 
 8th of July, preparations were made for proclaim- 
 ing their independence on the 11th, and a great 
 deal of ceremony and parade attended it. The 
 people of Port au Prince exulted at the idea of 
 being now placed beyond the possibility of dis- 
 turbance in their persons and property; but such 
 exultation was confined to the city alone in which 
 the celebration of the event was to take place. 
 Throughout the whole island, and particularly the 
 north and south, the intelligence was received with 
 great murmurings, and the negro cultivators began 
 to apprehend that they had been sold to the French 
 for the purpose of reestablishing slavery. At 
 Cape Haytien in particular the people shewed the 
 strongest symptoms of a disposition to revolt, and 
 in the neighbourhood all was ripening for resisting 
 the measures of the government. Boyer was in- 
 formed of it, and so powerful did it appear, that he 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAIXT DOMIXGO. 249 
 
 immediately ordered troops to advance for the pur- 
 pose of awing the people into an acquiescence in 
 the arrangements which had been made. He suc- 
 ceeded in doing so ; but although he discovered 
 the principals and seized them, yet fearing the con- 
 sequences that were likely to ensue from bringing 
 them to trials he only directed them to be banished 
 to the south, confining the limits of their place of 
 exile to the vicinity of Jacmel. 
 
 A general officer, who commanded one of the 
 southern arrondissements, demanded from the secre- 
 tary-general, Inginac, the cause of so disgraceful a 
 concession on the part of President Boyer, and 
 declared that it was cowardly and treacherous to 
 the people. The secretary-general replied, " that 
 it was impossible to do otherwise, as the French 
 fleet lay off the city, and if the president had not 
 acceded to the ordonnance, the destruction of the 
 city would have followed, and then what would 
 have become of our wives and children, our pro- 
 perties and the republic ?'''' The general, who was a 
 negro, with a look of the greatest indignation, imme- 
 diately asked the secretary-general *' if President 
 Boyer and himself considered the city of Port au 
 Prince alone the republic ; and if that city had fjiUen 
 into the hands of their enemies, whether there were 
 not other places in which they might have taken 
 refuge, rather than have submitted to the disgrace 
 
250 niESKXT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAr. IX. 
 
 of such an unprecedented treaty ?" After the spirited 
 declaration of the negro general, it was intimated 
 to him that his presence was particularly required 
 at his place of command. 
 
 There were several fetes given in Port au Prince 
 to Baron Mackau and the French officers, all of 
 which were onlv remarkable for the fulsome com- 
 pliments which flowed from the respective parties. 
 The French, who six months before were execrated 
 by the people, were received with every appear- 
 ance of esteem by those who had taken an active 
 part in these transactions. The ears of strangers 
 were continually beset by persons engaged by the 
 President to cry through the streets, " Vive Charles 
 the Xth !^' " Vive le Dauphin de France !" " Vive 
 la France !" " Vive Haiti r " Vive le President 
 d'Haiti !" " Vive 1' Independence !" 
 
 Baron Mackau seems to have had a perfect know- 
 ledge of the people to whom he had been sent, for 
 he dealt out his flattery with no unsparing hand, and 
 the avidity with which Boyer swallowed it excited 
 no little surprise among the French, and became 
 the subject of general talk with all classes of people, 
 Haytians and foreigners. Their noble struggle 
 against Le Clerc, and their courage and virtues, 
 were continually the subjects of the baron's praise; 
 at other times, the progress and improvement in 
 the various branches of knowledge which the people 
 
CHAP. IX.] OK SAIXT DOMINCO. 251 
 
 had made, and above all, the high talents of Boyer, 
 his discernment and discretion, and his many good 
 and noble qualities. 
 
 The negotiation for independence having been 
 arranged, it was necessary, before the whole could 
 be concluded, that commissioners should forthwith 
 be sent to France for the final adjustment of some 
 differences which could not be provided for in 
 the preliminary treaty, and for the raising of mo- 
 ney by a loan for the payment of the first instal- 
 ment of the indemnity. The persons appointed 
 for the mission were, Mons. Rouanney, a senator, 
 who had been employed in the previous mission, 
 Mons. Daumec, a lawyer, and Colonel Fremont, aid- 
 de-camp of the President. Daumec, the only man 
 possessed of the least talent, was taken ill on his 
 passage to France, and died soon after his arrival 
 in that country. The duty therefore devolved on the 
 other two, who were incompetent for the management 
 of the important charge with which they were en- 
 trusted, and their execution of it confirmed such a 
 conclusion. Rouanney was perhaps as little cal- 
 culated for diplomacy as any person that could have 
 been selected — he is a weak and superficial charac- 
 ter, a compound of vanity and presumption ; and Fre- 
 mont could only have been nominated to display the 
 splendour of the Haytian military costume, and to 
 shew to the good people of France the magnificence 
 of the court of the redoubtable President of Hayti ! 
 
252 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciTAP. IX. 
 
 They failed in their mission, for they were unable 
 to determine on any question that was submitted by 
 the French for their consideration, and consequently 
 the cabinet of France was driven to the alternative of 
 tendering to them the basis of a definitive treaty com- 
 prising twenty- one articles, with which they were or- 
 dered to return to Hayti, and to lay it before their 
 government for approval or rejection. Their return 
 excited no little astonishment; and when the docu- 
 ment of which they were the bearers was presented 
 to Boyer, he was anxious to accept it, but his coun- 
 cil, it appears, and the secretary-general, Inginac, 
 decidedly opposed it, alleging that if it were received 
 it would be compromising the honour and indepen- 
 dence of the republic ; for it was a strange anomaly, 
 and bore no analogy to a definitive treaty of peace, 
 but in all its relative parts had a resemblance to a 
 convention between a king and his rebellious sub- 
 jects. Boyer therefore, much against his inclina- 
 tion, rejected the treaty, but intimated to the French 
 cabinet his sincerity in wishing that such a treaty 
 had been concluded as would be reciprocally ad- 
 vantageous, and establish a good understanding be- 
 tween the two countries. He also pledged himself 
 to conform to the terms of the ordonnance of the 
 French king, by the admission of the ships of France 
 chargeable with reduced duties, and by providing 
 for the payment of the indemnity at the respective 
 periods at which the instalments became due. 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAIMT DOMINGO. 253 
 
 With respect to the loan for payhig the first 
 instahnent that fell due on the 31st of Decem- 
 ber following, the commissioners, Rouanney and 
 Fremont, seem to have been totally ignorant of the 
 nature and. effect of such a negotiation. They ap- 
 pear to have been in a maze from the attractions of 
 Paris, and their understandings — if they ever had 
 any — warped by the influence of French intrigue, 
 for they concluded a contract, that not only ex- 
 hibited the greatest absurdity, but one that would 
 entail a most extraordinary loss upon their country 
 by its redemption ; a loan that has excited the 
 risibility of the moneyed men who had a share in its 
 negotiation, and has displayed the incapacity of 
 the persons selected by the Haytian government to 
 represent it in a measure of so much importance. 
 
 Such was the state into which Boyer had thrown 
 the republic by his weak and most improvident 
 policy, and it required some skill and ingenuity to 
 avert the evil likely to ensue from it, for dissatisfac- 
 tion began to be prevalent. From the press of 
 Hayti being under the censorship of the govern- 
 ment, the proceedings with France relative to the 
 recognition of independence were not known in 
 many parts of the country, particularly amongst 
 the cultivators of the interior. Although forming 
 the largest proportion of the people, they had no 
 knowledge of the conditions on which the French 
 had acceded to the recognition, until the members 
 
25i rRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. IX. 
 
 of tlic cliamber of communes returned to the se- 
 veral parishes which they represented, and ex- 
 plained the whole of the measures pursued by the 
 president. No sooner was it made known that the 
 French were to receive one hundred and fifty mil- 
 lions of francs as an indemnity to the old colonists, 
 and that the ships of France were to be admitted 
 on half duties, than a general murmur of disgust 
 was heard, and the members of the communes were 
 most justly censured for having countenanced an 
 act which would entail upon them endless trouble 
 and anxiety. The idea of paying so large a sum, or 
 even any money at all, for so insecure a boon as that 
 of the recognition by France, was declared to be 
 of all acts the most absurd and inconsistent ; and 
 to admit them besides to a privilege of trade more 
 favourable than that which was conceded to England, 
 which had always been constant in her intercourse, 
 was deprecated as a measure which was likely to 
 bring down upon them the displeasure of that govern- 
 ment, particularly as the President had, only but 
 a very short time previous to his abject submission 
 to France, most unwisely abrogated the law of 
 Petion which admitted the manufactures and pro- 
 duce of Great Britain into the ports of the republic 
 at lower rates of duty than those of other countries. 
 Such being the impression upon the generality of 
 the people, they hesitated not to say, that the admis- 
 sion of the indemnity to France as a national debt 
 
CHAT. TX.] OR SAINT DO^ITXCO. 255 
 
 by the legislative bodies was not binding upon the 
 people; for as they had gained their independence by 
 one of the greatest struggles in modern times, and as 
 they had supported it at the expense of a great deal 
 of blood, and as it had become indisputable from 
 twenty-one years' possession, they could only con- 
 sider such conduct on the part of President Boyer 
 as the effect of weakness and that want of energy and 
 decision which ought to be conspicuous in the head 
 of any government ; and therefore that they were 
 determined to resist any levies that might be at- 
 tempted for raising the amount of the instalments out 
 of their properties. In this predicament was Boyer 
 placed, and it was made the more awkward to him 
 from the cry of his people, " for arrangements with 
 England,'' and " give the English privileges, and 
 down with privileges to France." They were sensi- 
 ble, they said, that the British government would 
 have protected them against the enemies of their 
 peace and independence ; but now, from the pre- 
 cipitancy of their own rulers, they were no better 
 than a colony of France again; and that England 
 could not hold out to them any expectation of sup- 
 port, unless she embroiled herself in a war with her 
 neighbouring state. 
 
 Finding such to be the feelings of the people, 
 Boyer had recourse to an expedient which he 
 thought would appease their irritation, and once 
 more soften them to an approval of his conduct. 
 
256 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [oiIAP. IX. 
 
 He made indirect overtures to the British govern- 
 ment, and afterwards a direct communication, to 
 know if it were the intention of the King of 
 England to recognize the independence of his 
 country, as the King of France had been in- 
 duced to do; but no assurances were received, fur- 
 ther than that his Majesty, for the protection of 
 British commerce in the republic of Hayti, con- 
 templated to send out consuls to that country to 
 preside over the interests of British subjects ; and 
 that if the Haytian government had any proposals 
 to offer, on which a treaty of commerce could be 
 entered into upon a reciprocal basis, it would re- 
 ceive that attention which the nature of it de- 
 manded. This disposition of the British govern- 
 ment was no sooner known in Hayti, — and I had 
 been the bearer of it to Boyer — than the people 
 manifested the highest symptoms of joy and satis- 
 faction, declaring that they were now at the acme 
 of their wishes. Boyer found it an act of prudence 
 to express similar feelings of pleasure, though he 
 secretly hated the English, and would have sub- 
 mitted to any sacrifice rather than have seen them 
 triumphant in the opinions of the people ; Inginac, 
 the secretary-general, was not only gratified at the 
 intelligence, but shewed openly that this was the 
 nearest wish to his heart, and as he had always 
 been much attached to the English from having 
 had a good deal of intercourse with them, there was 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAIXT DOMINGO. 257 
 
 no event from which he could derive so much satis- 
 faction and happiness as to see the representative 
 of the commerce of Great Britain land upon their 
 shores. The inhabitants of the country considered 
 this as a tacit admission of their independence 
 by Great Britain, and Boyer encouraged such an 
 opinion. 
 
 It was, indeed, extraordinary to see the people 
 running towards the government-house to congratu- 
 late Boyer when the intelligence was first made 
 public, and the respectable citizens congratulate 
 each other with the most happy countenances, as they 
 were likely to be secured in the enjoyment of their 
 properties. That their country would now prosper, 
 and advance in wealth and consequence when recog- 
 nized by the crown of England, seemed to them 
 certain ; and they hailed it as an event of the 
 highest importance to their interests and to their 
 future aggrandizement. 
 
 From the moment of its being announced that 
 the British government had come to the determina- 
 tion of sending out a consul-general to Hayti, 
 Boyer'^s officers of state and the people in general 
 manifested the greatest solicitude for his appear- 
 ance ; a solicitude, emanating from a great sense 
 of the importance which they attached to it. The 
 president suppressed his feelings, whatever they 
 might have been ; but at times he could not re- 
 sist the temptation of condemning the delay which 
 
258 PRESEXT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 intervened between the appointment of the con- 
 sul and his departure from England ; and he was 
 often heard to say, that he questioned the sin- 
 cerity of the British cabinet respecting such in- 
 tentions, and that he beheved it to be only a 
 ruse de commerce. The inhabitants, however, 
 were of a different opinion; they knew the inte- 
 o-rity of the British government, and were confident 
 that its commerce would not be neglected, but pro- 
 moted and extended wherever it could be accom- 
 plished. Under this conviction they began to con- 
 sult each other, and take into consideration in 
 what manner they should best evince their joy, 
 and shew those marks of respect to which a consul 
 from England was so justly entitled. 
 
 It was determined by them to receive him on his 
 landing with shouts and acclamations, and to con- 
 duct him to his hotel, accompanied by the most 
 opulent and powerful of the citizens, and that the 
 city should be illuminated ; but when their plans 
 were communicated to Boyer by the })residential 
 spies, he had it made known indirectly that such 
 manifestations of their pleasure would not only be 
 irregular, but that he should feel it as an insult 
 offered to himself, as he had not been consulted on 
 its propriety, nor applied to for his permission. 
 
 On the 25tli of May, the consul-general and his 
 suite arrived in his Majesty's ship Druid, Captain 
 Chambers ; but as she did not appear off the harbour 
 
CHAP. IX.} OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 259 
 
 till nearly dark, she was not recognised by the go- 
 vernment officers, and consequently did not salute 
 before the following morning, when it was returned 
 by the forts, which was the only demonstration of 
 respect offered by the Haytian authorities on his 
 arrival. N^ay, President Boyer could not conceal 
 his antipathy, nor restrain his dislike to the English, 
 even though he perceived that the presence of the 
 British mission had a strong tendency to reconcile 
 all classes of his citizens to his impolitic measures. 
 He individually neglected even to congratulate the 
 consul on his arrival ; he did not pay him the com- 
 mon civility of sending one of his aides-de-camp to 
 express himself friendly to the object of his visit, 
 as was the case on the arrival of the French consul- 
 general, to whom he sent two of his staff to offer 
 him the assurances of his high consideration and 
 esteem. The consul-general of England was only 
 visited by a subaltern of artillery on the staff of 
 General Inginac, and the general was absolutely 
 precluded paying a higher compliment to him by 
 the positive orders of Boyer; by the express order 
 of that very man who would have been subjected 
 to the animadversions, if not the hatred, of his citi- 
 zens, had not the British government sent out a 
 representative to give them something like an ap- 
 pearance of protection against the intrigues of 
 France. He would no doubt have set the whole 
 of his citizens in a ferment, had it not been pre- 
 
2G0 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [OHAP. IX. 
 
 vented by the timely arrival of the British consul- 
 general, when their animosity and irritation seemed 
 to have been softened by the gratification of seeing 
 the British ensign proudly waving from a British 
 man-of-war. 
 
 The consul-general, Mr. Charles Mackenzie, a 
 gentleman of the most refined and accomplished 
 manners, and possessing talents of the highest 
 order, received all this contumely with the most 
 perfect indifference, attributing it to a very just 
 cause. He knew that Boyer was secretly attached 
 to the French, that he cordially disliked the British, 
 that he had arranged with the French for the pur- 
 pose of giving that nation influence and privileges 
 in Hayti, and that any intercourse with England 
 was forced upon him by his people. He knew also 
 that Boyer was not the individual he was repre- 
 sented to be ; that he possessed neither enlarged 
 nor cultivated ideas, and had no correct knowledge 
 of the world ; and consequently, from these circum- 
 stances, he very judiciously put down all that show 
 of neglect on the part of the government to its 
 proper account, ignorance. 
 
 It is necessary now to advert to the proceedings 
 of Boyer after his arrangements with France, and to 
 see what steps he took to provide for the necessi- 
 ties of the government, brought on in a very in- 
 creased proportion by the improvident measures 
 which he had pursued. 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 261 
 
 In the first place, he called upon the legislative 
 body to sanction his treaty with France, to admit it 
 to have been both expedient and unavoidable, from 
 the situation into which the republic was thrown by 
 the unlooked-for appearance of the French armament 
 on their shores, and finally, by their entrance into 
 the harbour of Port au Prince, before any prepara- 
 tions for defence could be made. No one enter- 
 tained any doubt respecting the issue of this ques- 
 tion; every person who knew how the legislative 
 body was constituted was aware that it would meet 
 with their acquiescence, that no member would have 
 the temerity to offer his dissent, and that it would 
 pass nem. con. In fact, there was no debate upon 
 the question ; the measure was proposed, and passed 
 three times in one day. 
 
 Another important question also, submitted by 
 the president, was the indemnity promised to France. 
 He called upon them to declare it a debt of 
 the nation, and to devise such means as would 
 enable him to meet and liquidate it at the periods 
 when the respective instalments became due. This 
 met with some trifling opposition, but was however 
 carried, and immediately promulgated on the plea 
 that the honour of the republic and its credit would 
 be compromised were it not most rigidly and strictly 
 complied with. 
 
 AVhen it was known through the country that the 
 representatives of the people had acceded to these 
 
262 TRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [CHAP. IX. 
 
 two propositions of the president, the inhabitants 
 began to express themselves in language easily to be 
 understood, and to declare that they would not sub- 
 mit to be burthened with the indemnity to France, 
 and that on no consideration whatever would they 
 contribute towards its liquidation, it never having 
 met with their concurrence : that they never wished 
 the recognition of their independence by France, 
 and in fact that the whole of the proceedings of the 
 government, with regard to the negotiations with 
 that power, ought to be universally execrated by 
 every citizen in the republic ; and when it was fur- 
 ther known that an act had passed to compel each 
 arrondissement to pay its proportion as pointed out 
 vmder the law, they strongly expressed their deter- 
 mination to resist a levy which they were neither 
 willing nor able to raise. 
 
 I had an opportunity of knowing the sentiments 
 of the people on this subject, from a communication 
 made to me by several of the most opulent of the 
 planters in the south-western part of the republic, 
 and it was made without any feeling of hostility 
 entertained on their part towards the government ; 
 but they declared that the small cultivators, and 
 others composing the great mass of the population 
 of their district, were so exasperated at the con- 
 cession of such privileges to their enemy, that they 
 ■were confident that no force could compel them to 
 pay their quota of the indemnity, and that resorting 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 263 
 
 to compulsory measures would only infuriate tliem 
 so much more. 
 
 The government from every quarter received the 
 most unfavourable intelligence respecting the im- 
 pression which their measures for raising this in- 
 demnity had made, and the irritability which it 
 had excited; it was therefore deemed advisable to 
 try if it were possible to raise one or two of the 
 instalments by voluntary loans, to be redeemed in 
 thirty years, and to bear an interest of six per cent, 
 on the stock at par. If this could have been ac- 
 complished, the compulsory measure would not have 
 been enforced, and the law would have remained 
 a dead letter ; but the attempt proved unsuccessful. 
 The people had no confidence in the government, 
 and although every officer of the state contributed, 
 and even some British merchants, yet they could 
 not raise three hundred thousand dollars, and even 
 that sum has not been paid into the treasury. 
 
 jMany citizens, on being applied to, to aid the con- 
 tribution, declined to render any assistance to a 
 measure which they declared to be pregnant with 
 the most pernicious consequences ; for they had, 
 they said, no hesitation in avowing it to be their 
 opinion that the government never intended to re- 
 pay one shilling either of principal or interest, 
 and that they could not, consistent with their ideas 
 of justice towards their fellow citizens, give their 
 
264 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 sanction to so unjust and nefarious a proceeding. 
 They observed also, that as to faith in the inte- 
 grity of the government they had none ; that under 
 no consideration would they lend it a dollar, for that 
 it was impossible for it to redeem any loan it might 
 obtain when it was fettered with a debt that was too 
 burthensome for the country; a debt contracted by 
 every species of weakness, and want of energy and 
 courage in those who were placed at the head of the 
 state. 
 
 In the eastern part of the republic, the people 
 were much more violent in their opposition, for they 
 openly remonstrated against contributing towards 
 the indemnity, alleging that they had not been an 
 integral part of the French colony at any time, and 
 that they would not be compelled to pay any pro- 
 portion of the debt contracted by the government for 
 a recognition of independence by France, because 
 they never acknowledged the right of that power to 
 any part of their division of the island. They had 
 voluntarily joined that part of the country under 
 Boyer's government, but not with the supposition 
 that they were to submit to such an arrangement as 
 to pay any proportion of an indemnity which it was 
 thought proper to give to France for a recognition 
 of the rights of the people of the other extremity. 
 This was but just in the inhabitants of the Spanish 
 end of the island, and it would be unfair to condemn 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAIIS^T DOMIMGO. 265 
 
 them for thus strenuously rejecting every attempt on 
 the part of the government to allure them into an 
 acquiescence. 
 
 It was pretty generally believed also, that this 
 determination of the people of the east was counte- 
 nanced by the officers who commanded in its several 
 districts, who were not backward in expressing their 
 dissatisfaction at the measures of the president ; and 
 the latter found it advisable not to adopt any further 
 means for the raising of a loan in the country, but 
 to try what could be accomplished when the new 
 law for levying the contributions came into force. 
 
 Into this dilemma therefore has Boyer thrown his 
 country, and without any ostensible means by which 
 he can extricate it from the difficulties in which it 
 is involved. Oppressed with the weight of an over- 
 whelming debt, contracted without an equivalent — 
 with an empty treasury, and destitute of ways and 
 means for supplying it — the soil almost neglected, or 
 at least but very partially tilled — without commerce 
 and credit, — such is the present state of the repub- 
 lic ; and it seems almost impossible that, under the 
 system which is now pursued, there should be any 
 melioration of its condition, or that it can arrive at 
 any very high state of improvement. Any change 
 from the present would in all probability be worth 
 the experiment, but the existing inefficiency of the 
 government precludes the chance of any beneficial 
 alteration being effected. Hence there appears every 
 
2G6 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 reason to apprehend that it will recede into irre- 
 coverable insignificance, poverty, and disorder. 
 
 It must be manifest to every individual who visits 
 Hayti, and who devotes some little attention to the 
 state of the country, that the leaders in the govern- 
 ment mistake the true principle of governing, and 
 that their ideas of the most effectual way to exalt 
 their country are erroneous, wild, visionary, and in- 
 consistent. They are so excessively vain too of their 
 talents and discernment, that they think they have 
 framed a constitution the most pure and unobjec- 
 tionable of all the modern republics ; and they ar- 
 rogate to themselves the merit of having perfected a 
 system that must eventually excite the admiration 
 and receive the approbation of the world. With such 
 arrogance on the part of her rulers, it is not surpris- 
 ing that Hayti, instead of improving in her condi- 
 tion, should greatly decline, and that her advance- 
 ment under such circumstances should be exceedingly 
 slow. Whereas, on the contrary, were the president 
 and his advisers to study the best interests of their 
 country, they would look round for information, con- 
 sult the experienced from every quarter, and court 
 advice rather than shun it. But so long as Boyer is 
 permitted to fill the presidential chair, this cannot 
 be expected ; his vanity is too deeply ingrafted to 
 be easily rooted out, and labouring as he does under 
 the most extraordinary infatuation of his infallibili- 
 ty, no good can be anticipated from his government, 
 
CHAP. ]X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 2G7 
 
 nor can the people be expected to advance in know- 
 ledge, wealth, or prosperity. 
 
 The only department of government to which 
 Boyer seems to devote his attention is the military 
 establishment, and in this he is apparently sincere, 
 but without displaying those requisites which consti- 
 tute the capability of regulating the internal affairs 
 of that branch of the state. The standing force of 
 Hayti exhibits at once the absurdity of his measures, 
 and illustrates the folly of his arrangements with 
 France. It is stated by himself at forty-five thou- 
 sand men, — I say nothing of the national guards, one 
 hundred and thirteen thousand, — all well armed, well 
 disciplined, and completely found with every article 
 necessary for the soldier. If, therefore, his force 
 were as stated by himself, so powerful and well or- 
 ganized, the only thing that can be said is, that he 
 must have been a most inefficient commander, and 
 in any other country would have been subjected to 
 the strongest animadversions, for not having opposed 
 the French force instead of submitting to such terms 
 as those to which he assented. Whatever may be 
 the numerical strength of the Haytian standing 
 army, its disposition weakens its power, and evi- 
 dently displays the incapacity of Boyer as a military 
 man, although his egotism, and the adulation of his 
 staff, would wish it to be understood that he is but 
 little inferior to the greatest captain of the age. It 
 is a known fact that he cannot, within any moderate 
 
2C8 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. IX. 
 
 period, concentrate at any given point five thousand 
 men ; and notwithstanding their boasted discipUnc, 
 I have no hesitation in declaring that not one half 
 of such a body would be fit for active service on any 
 sudden call or emergency. 
 
 Let us look at the condition of a Haytian regi- 
 ment with respect to equipment for the field. I 
 have seen several of them in what was represented 
 to be marching order ; and what was their state ? 
 Some of the men are without even bayonets to their 
 firelocks, many without a cartouch-box, and some 
 without either belts, cartouch-box, or bayonet. Then 
 their uniform, too — that can hardly be described. 
 The coat ought to be of blue cloth, with red facings; 
 a cap similar to the French infantry, with the arms 
 of the republic, in brass, on the front of it, white 
 duck trowsers, and black gaiters. This I say ought 
 to be their uniform, according to the military re- 
 gulation ; but the officers commanding regiments 
 are not quite so nice, not such strict disciplinarians 
 as officers in the British army, for the former are 
 not in the least particular should their men appear 
 either on parade, or in marching order, without 
 many of those articles which, by the latter of their 
 instructions would be considered indispensable. A 
 Haytian commanding officer looks to nothing but his 
 own personal appearance. If that has undergone the 
 survey of his chere amie and his fille de chambre, 
 he stalks forth to the head of his corps in all the 
 
CHAP. IX.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 2G9 
 
 majesty of command, with his nodding phmics wav- 
 ing to and fro, not unlike one of those heroes fre- 
 quently represented in some ballet or spectacle. He 
 has no concern for the appearance of his soldiers, 
 and consequently they exhibit one so extremely 
 outre, that I fear a description would scarcely ob- 
 tain credibility. Shoes are considered superfluities, 
 for in a regiment of four hundred men you will 
 not find many dozen pairs. Shirts again are not 
 required; as the jacket hides them, they are there- 
 fore voted as unnecessary and extravagant. Their 
 caps in colour, — for they deem cleaning to be a labour 
 unbecoming a soldier, — which ought to be black, 
 resemble more the colour of the earth on which 
 they walk, and are generally applied for carrying it 
 when they are ordered on working parties, putting 
 them therefore to a very important use. And their 
 feathers, instead of standing perpendicular, are 
 mostly horizontal, because a soldier generally ap- 
 plies his cap for the purposes of a seat in one instance, 
 and as an utensil for carrying water in the other. 
 
 I have heard a great deal about the courage of the 
 Haytian soldiers, and such a thing as bravery in all 
 probability did exist in the early periods of the revo- 
 lution ; but whatever may be said to the contrary, 
 I am inclined to think that they are as deficient in 
 real courage as they are in every other requisite for 
 a soldier. High sounding and vaunting declarations 
 of their character for heroism, fortitude, and resolu- 
 tion, on occasions of a very critical nature, I have 
 
270 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. [cHAP. IX. 
 
 often heard from the citizens, but I have known, 
 from my own personal observation, of instances in 
 which they have shewn the most abject cowardice. 
 In ambuscade, or for irregular warfare, busli fight- 
 ing, or any similar operations, they may be useful ; 
 but if they be ever brought in front of an enemy, to 
 contend for any position at the point of the bayonet, 
 or to perform any duty exposed to the menace of even 
 an inferior force, they will shew themselves exceed- 
 ingly deficient in courage, and quite on the alert to 
 fall back; and it will be seen also, that their officers 
 are not often to be found setting their men any ex- 
 ample of disregard of personal danger, or of giving 
 those proofs of innate valour and bravery which are 
 so characteristic of European soldiers. 
 
 The naval force of Hayti is inconsiderable. It 
 consists only of a brigantine of six or eight guns, 
 and about three schooners of four guns each, not one 
 of which is capable of leaving their own coast, 
 being badly equipped, worse manned, and the officers 
 quite ignorant of navigation, and they have about 
 five hundred sailors. The government bought a 
 vessel for the purpose of loading her with produce to 
 send to France, to pay a debt it owed there, and 
 they had not a Hay tian who could navigate her, and 
 they were obliged to get a British subject of colour 
 to take the command. He went to Havre, and was 
 named " The Ilaytian.'" This affords a fair speci- 
 men of Haytian capacity. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Topographical sketch. — State of the roads. — Mode of 
 repair by criminals. — How criminals are treated. — De- 
 scription of inns. — Accommodations at them. — Mode 
 of travelling. — Value of land in several districts, and in 
 towns. 
 
 Whoever has read the history of St. Domingo, and 
 has been impressed with an idea of its richness, of 
 its varied scenery, and of its fertile condition pre- 
 viously to its feeling the ravages of the revolution, 
 and now contemplates the desolate appearance of 
 Hayti, will be astonished that such a contrast could 
 ensue ; that a period of twenty- two years having 
 elapsed since the declaration of independence, there 
 should not appear some symptoms of improvement on 
 the face of the country ; and that the people should 
 not have been anxious to restore the plantations to 
 their wonted state of productiveness. In my pere- 
 grinations through the island, I was at times struck 
 with the extraordinary difference between what the 
 country was represented to be by the people them- 
 selves, and its actual appearance in the different 
 districts through which I had an occasion to pass ; 
 and a comparison of its once fertile state with its 
 
272 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 now Sterile aspect only excites a greater astonish- 
 ment, and confirms my opinion of the indolence 
 and apathy of the inluibitants. 
 
 The original French part of the island was always, 
 as I have before observed, the most productive, be- 
 cause a greater degree of industry prevailed among 
 the people. The eastern part of the island was never 
 much celebrated for aught but its pastures, and its 
 mineral productions, its mahogany and dye woods, 
 and its cattle of all descriptions. I shall present a 
 slight view of the present appearance of the country, 
 from my own observations, and from the notes of 
 others who have favoured me with a description, on 
 which every reliance may be placed, because I 
 have had their notes particularly scrutinized by 
 persons who are conversant with the whole of the 
 country, and on whose veracity I can safely rely. 
 I may differ in my detail from others who have 
 gone before me, but I have some hope that the ac- 
 count which I shall give will command the assent 
 even of these persons. I shall commence with the 
 capital, noticing the country and the several places 
 on the coast, inland, and conclude with a few ob- 
 servations on different parts of the interior. 
 
 The city of Port au Prince, which constitutes the 
 capital of the republic, is situate immediately at 
 the extremity of the bay of Port au Priixce, and in 
 the centre of the department of the west. On its 
 north are the plains of Cul de Sac, environed by a 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 273 
 
 chain of mountains extending from the eastward to 
 the channel of St, Marc's in the vicinity of L'Ar- 
 cahaze. To the east are the mountains of La 
 Coupe, the ascent to which commences immediately 
 without the walls of the city. And on the south 
 it is bounded by the plains and the bight of Leo- 
 gane. It is about a mile from the northern to the 
 southern gate, and from the sea to the eastern 
 boundary about twelve hundred yards. It was 
 formerly encompassed by a wall, and by several 
 forts of great strength ; but the wall has fallen to 
 decay, and the forts are partly demolished, and are 
 now so much gone to ruin that they are quite in- 
 capable of defence. At present there are forts Pe- 
 tion, in which the bowels of President Petion are 
 deposited, Bazilles, La Croix, Le Marre, Islet, 
 Hospital, Leogane, Government, and one or two 
 of minor note, but they are all in such a state of 
 dilapidation that a salute adds greatly to their 
 weakness. Fort Islet is at the entrance of the har- 
 bour, and the weakness of the President leads him 
 to think that its few guns, not more than six, would 
 stop the approach of an invading force ; and with 
 this idea he has had it put into a proper condition 
 of defence ; but it stands so low, that the guns of a 
 frigate brought to bear upon it would at once make 
 it quite uniienable. In fact I am sure that a British 
 officer at the head of fifty men would desire no 
 better amusement than to storm it, particularly 
 
 T 
 
274« PHESEKT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 when defended by such soldiers as the Haytians. 
 With regard to the others, I do not see that in 
 their present condition they can be defensible, for 
 their batteries are demolished, and not an embra- 
 sure is left. 
 
 The streets are straight, running from north to 
 south, and from east to west, and are sufficiently 
 wide and commodious; but the roads are in such a 
 state as to be quite impassable for carriages ; and 
 although the government levies a heavy tax for re- 
 pairing them, and the criminals sentenced to work 
 on them are numerous, yet but little is accomplished 
 towards pu.tting them into a state of repair at all 
 suited for vehicles of any description, and after a 
 heavy rain they are totally impassable for people on 
 foot. The members of government are quite uncon- 
 cerned about any thing tending to improve the ap- 
 pearance of their city, towns, or country ; they seem, 
 from the President to the lowest individual, ab- 
 sorbed in vice, living in sloth and sensuality, care- 
 less of every thing, so long as they may be per- 
 mitted to indulge in the indolence and excesses so 
 predominant in the habits of the Haytian people. 
 The houses are merely the remains of such as stood 
 the ravages of the revolution, and those wooden edi- 
 fices, which were built since the two destructive fires 
 in 1820 and 1822, which consumed one third of the 
 city, containing all the most valuable buildings, 
 with property in them to a large amount. The city 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 275 
 
 therefore, to a stranger approaching it from the sea, 
 has an odd appearance, exhibiting nothing but 
 dilapidation and decay, or as if it had just suffered 
 from the effects of some violent convulsion ; and 
 there seems no disposition to repair or improve it. 
 In the time of the French the whole of the streets 
 were paved, but the pavement since then has been 
 mostly destroyed and never repaired. The houses 
 on each side had virandas and trees in front of 
 them, whose foliage, impervious to the solar rays, 
 afforded the inhabitants a promenade, without be- 
 ing exposed to the influence of the sun ; but the 
 trees have been all destroyed, and only an occa- 
 sional viranda is to be seen. The public build- 
 ings consist only of the government-house, the ar- 
 senal, senate, and communes"* house, and it is no 
 difficult matter to describe them. The first was the 
 residence of the governor during the French regime, 
 and at that period must have been a splendid edi- 
 fice. It is low, as are all the houses in the West 
 Indies, built so on account of the frequency of earth- 
 quakes, but it is commodious, and commands a fine 
 view of the sea. The gardens are represented to 
 have been splendid, and in the front was a foun- 
 tain (jet d'eau), which had a supply of water suffi- 
 cient for all the purposes of the governor's esta- 
 blishment ; but they are now a mere waste, the 
 fountain destroyed, and the house externally ex- 
 hibits more the appearance of a barrack than the 
 
 T 2 
 
276 rnESENT state of iiaytt, [chap. x. 
 
 se<at of government. The arsenal is contiguous to 
 the sea, and might be destroyed by a gim-boat, for 
 it has nothing to defend it but a battery, mounting 
 two or three guns. It contains all the arms, artil- 
 lery, and ammunition of the government, and shews 
 the folly of the president who established it imme- 
 diately within the range of an enemy's guns. The 
 senate-house is a low irregular building, and was 
 formerly used as a dwelling-house, and since that 
 period it has never received either repair or orna- 
 ment, for it is tumbling to pieces, and has a filthy 
 appearance, for the want of a little attention. The 
 communes'* house has more the appearance of a re- 
 ceptacle for lunatics ; and really if one were only to 
 visit it during the sittings of the chamber, it would 
 not be surprising if an impression were made that 
 the lunatics of the republic had congregated in it, 
 instead of reasonable men to deliberate upon the 
 affairs of their country. The cathedral has nothing 
 in its external appearance to point it out as a place 
 appropriated for divine worship ; it is a square build- 
 ing, with a single roof, without any steeple, with an 
 ascent to it of about three or four steps on the 
 western extremity. There is but little to attract in 
 the interior decorations and ornaments; the altar is 
 constructed of gew-gaws and tinsel ; above it is a 
 painting by a modern artist, representing the union 
 of the blacks and people of colour. The figures 
 are two ofldcers embracing; one is in the uniform of 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 277 
 
 a general of hussars, and the other in that of a 
 general of infantry, one black and the other a 
 mulatto. The back ground represents a field of 
 battle in which the Haytians have just gained a 
 victory over the enemies of the repubhc. There is 
 an organ, but a small one, and not at all remarkable 
 for either its tones or its structure. There is no- 
 thing else in the cathedral, and it is in fact a libel 
 on the name to call it one. 
 
 Upon the whole nothing can be said in favour 
 of the city of Port au Prince ; and if it stood un- 
 rivalled in point of elegance and splendour in the 
 time of the French, in the days and under the go- 
 vernment of President Boyer it is only remarkable 
 for ruins and every species of filth and uncleanli- 
 ness. It contains about thirty-five thousand in- 
 habitants of all classes. 
 
 The plains of the Cul de Sac, in the vicinity of 
 the city, were celebrated in former times for their 
 extreme productiveness, but they are now very little 
 cultivated ; and passing through them from one ex- 
 tremity to the other, from the sea on the west to 
 the lakes on the east, from the mountains of La 
 Coupe on the south, to those of Mirebalais on the 
 north, I could only discover now and then a patch 
 that had the least appearance of being tilled. On 
 ascending the mountains, and looking into the valley 
 below, the mind is at once struck with the inertness 
 and indolence of the people, and with the devasta- 
 
278 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 tion that must have been committed during the re- 
 volt of the slaves. Remains of houses and plantation 
 works are to be seen in every direction, scattered 
 implements for manufacturing sugar are spread 
 around you, and walls, which were erected for di- 
 viding properties, as well as for the internal division 
 of the lands in cultivation, arc thrown down and 
 mouldering, or overrun with the creepers and con- 
 volvulus, and various other shrubs, so as in places 
 to become perfectly imperceptible. There is nothing 
 to be seen in these once delightful plains like cidti- 
 vation ; all looks a barren waste, as though the in- 
 habitants had been driven out, or cut off by some 
 scourge, and the whole country had since been a 
 place of refuge only for beasts of prey. The moun- 
 tains remain untouched for the purposes of cultiva- 
 tion, except now and then a small patch for the 
 production of vegetables, and on which is erected a 
 miserable hut, in no respect superior, in point of ac- 
 commodation and comfort, to the wig-wam of the 
 North American Indians, but in which the sluggish 
 Haytian will dwindle away his days in laziness, sloth, 
 and in every species of lust and sensuality. He 
 seeks for nothing but what supplies his immediate 
 wants; and so long as he can produce enough for 
 the calls of to-day, he is careless of what may follow 
 on tlie morrow. Sleep and his women occupy the 
 remainder of his time, with the exception of a brief 
 interval^ which he gcueially devotes to playing drafts 
 
CHAP. X«] Oil SAINT DOMINGO. 279 
 
 or cards with a neighbour, generally as indolent and 
 as unconcerned as himself. The plains are finely wa- 
 tered; for independently of La Grande Riviere 
 there are innumerable smaller streams that water the 
 different parts, and in the event of any extraordinary 
 drought, irrigation could be easily resorted to for 
 the purpose of supporting vegetation. But this is 
 not often the case, as the seasons appear very regu- 
 lar, and the country in general is well supplied with 
 rain from the great attraction of the surrounding 
 mountainous districts, which are covered with al- 
 most impenetrable underwoods, and the showers 
 descend into the valleys, and fertilize the soil in an 
 extraordinary degree. 
 
 To the northward of the plains of the Cul de Sac, 
 in the vicinity of L'Arcahaze, there is nothing to 
 be seen that in the least indicates a country in that 
 state of productiveness which is pleasing to the tra- 
 veller ; every thing exhibits a degree of negligence 
 that is truly astonishing, particularly when the fer- 
 tility of the soil is so well known. 
 
 The whole of the extensive and fertile plain of 
 the Artibanite is in a similar condition; and althouo-h 
 it receives all the beneficial influence derived from 
 the o\ciflo wings of the river of the same name which 
 washes an extent of fifty leagues, emptying itself into 
 the bay of St. Marc, still the people do not evince any 
 disposition to cultivate the land. Scarcely a sugar 
 plantation is to be seen until you approach Gonaives 
 
280 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 or its vicinity, and those established in that quarter 
 are not worthy of the designation; they are mere 
 patches visible on an extended surface, and from the 
 elevations around them have only the appearance of 
 detached spots cultivated as gardens. There is no- 
 thing like an extensive scene of cultivation,, nor can 
 such be found throughout the whole of the republic. 
 In this plain on the coast are situated St, Marc and 
 Gonaives, which at one period were both places of 
 considerable trade, and the inhabitants wealthy, 
 living in great splendour and magnificence; but like 
 other places inhabited by the blacks and people of 
 colour, they are neglected, the houses gone to decay, 
 and allowed to moulder into ruins. Nothing is left 
 to remind the traveller of what they were. Con- 
 trasting what they are with what they are repre-- 
 sented to have been, he at once infers, that the pre- 
 sent inhabitants are a race devoid of all desire of 
 improvement, and only raised a very small degree 
 above the brute creation, from whom in their natures 
 and habits they differ but little. 
 
 The north, taking the whole of the point west- 
 ward from Port de Paix to Cape Nicolas Mole, 
 abounds in fertile plains, and in rich and productive 
 lands, well watered, and capable of great improve- 
 ment, where agriculture might be carried on with 
 great advantage, and where even an European, in a 
 climate almost approaching to the temperature of his 
 native country, might undergo manual labour with- 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 281 
 
 out any more inconvenience from it than what is ex- 
 perienced by a labourer in Europe in the months 
 of July and August. This is evident from the 
 circumstance of a colony of Germans and Dutch 
 in the neighbourhood of Cape Nicolas Mole hav- 
 ing cultivated their lands unaided by the negroes, 
 which, in proportion to their extent, are as pro- 
 ductive now as they were at any period of the his- 
 tory of the country. They do not, it is true, pro- 
 duce sugar ; but in the culture of coifee and cot- 
 ton they are exceedingly successful, and are in a 
 fine thriving condition. These Germans and their 
 ancestors seem to have resided in this part unmo- 
 lested during the whole of the troubles of the revo- 
 lution and rebelKon; and by the leading chiefs, 
 subsequent to those events, they have been respected 
 and protected. 
 
 In this district of the island there were several 
 places of considerable notoriety in the time of the 
 French, but they are now sunk into disrepute, and 
 in fact mere villages. These are, the Platform, 
 the town of Cape Nicolas Mole, Jean Rabel, 
 and Port de Paix. The Platform was noted in the 
 time of the revolutionary war with France for being 
 a place from which a great many privateers were 
 fitted out for the purpose of menacing our trade 
 from Jamaica, being within sight of ships passing 
 to the northward from that island. It is now, how- 
 ever, of no consideration, as it contains only a few 
 
282 rilESEKT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 houses inhabited by fishermen, who, it is said, occa- 
 sionally turn pirates, whenever they find a vessel 
 close enough in shore upon which they can pounce, 
 without running the risk of being seen by the crew 
 until they are alongside. The harbour of Cape Ni- 
 colas IVIole was the principal place for the safe an- 
 chorage of shipping in the western world, but it has 
 gone to neglect. The town consists now only of a 
 few scattered houses of no consideration, and the 
 whole of the fine fortifications which secured the 
 harbour against an enemy are now nearly demolished 
 and tumbling into ruins. The harbour is capable 
 of holding an immense fleet, and ships of the largest 
 size may safely ride at anchor, sheltered from the 
 wind from every quarter. The mountains secure 
 them against it from the east, north and south, and 
 the wind from the south-west is greatly shut out by 
 the high land running westerly. 
 
 The water in the harbour and close to the town is 
 said to be from five to fifteen fathoms deep. In his 
 negotiations with the Haytian government, the King 
 of France was exceedingly anxious to have this port 
 delivered up to him, for the purpose of a place of 
 security for his fleets, or rather for a footing in the 
 island, with a view of menacing the Haytians 
 whenever he felt disposed to threaten them with his 
 displeasure. But they had sense enough to resist 
 this demand, and the king was wise enough not to 
 contend for it, knowing that, in the event of Boyer 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 283 
 
 not fulfilling his engagements, it would fall an easy 
 prey to a very small force that might be sent against 
 it. The British homeward-bound ships, during the 
 war with France, were greatly annoyed by priva- 
 teers from this port, as they passed within sight of 
 the Mole, and so near at times, beating to wind- 
 ward, that it might easily be distinguished whether 
 they were merchantmen or men-of-war. It was 
 therefore between the Platform and this port that 
 most of the captures took place,^ and lately this 
 space has been the hiding-place for many piratical 
 vessels, which run in under the land at day-light, 
 strike their sails and top-masts, and consequently 
 lie unperceived during the day, whence they again 
 sail at night to commit further depredations. This 
 became so glaring at last, that Boyer was obliged to 
 send one of his vessels to intercept them; but I do 
 not hear that he succeeded. 
 
 Jean Babel is an inconsiderable port, with only a 
 few houses saved during the revolution. The plains^ 
 of the same name in its vicinity used to be exceed- 
 ingly fertile, but there is now but little done in the 
 culture of them, and in fact the whole of this part 
 of the island exhibits a picture of indolence too 
 shameful for any government to tolerate. 
 
 Port de Paix is opposite to the island of Tortuga 
 at the mouth of the Three Rivers; it is of no mag- 
 nitude, not being a port of entry for shipping as it 
 was formerly ; nor is it required, for there is little or 
 
28-l« PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. X. 
 
 no traffic, there being but little produce in its neigh- 
 bourhood. It was celebrated in the time of the Buc- 
 caneers for being the place of their frequent resort, 
 after their plundering and marauding voyages in the 
 adjacent seas. \t was here that the celebrated Mor- 
 gan, who was afterwards knighted by Charles the 
 Second, and became lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, 
 first joined the " Brethren of the Coast"", the term 
 usually given to the Buccaneers, of whom he finally 
 became the daring and most famous leader. In the 
 vicinity of Port de Paix there is a medicinal spring, 
 the waters of which are strongly sulphuretted, and 
 are much used and esteemed in cutaneous diseases. 
 The plains of the north, formerly celebrated for 
 their sugar plantations, and extending from the 
 Three Rivers to the old Spanish lines of demarca- 
 tion, are in a similar state with every other part 
 of the country, only partially cultivated in the 
 elevated parts, with coffee and some cotton. It is 
 impossible to view these celebrated plains without 
 regret, and to reflect on the impolitic measures of 
 the present ruler, which preclude the European all 
 chance of adventuring with his capital, and trying 
 what might be accomplished by investing it in the 
 soil. The most beneficial offer was once made to 
 him by an American company to colonize a dis- 
 trict, by sending from that country five thousand 
 blacks, to be emancipated in the event of their being 
 «hipi)ed off from the United States. But lie refused 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 285 
 
 to accede to the proposal; and what is more, he told 
 the parties making the application that the American 
 negroes were too much enlightened to be allowed to 
 colonize in Hayti, as they might intrigue with the 
 Haytians to undermine the state, '^here is no finer 
 soil in the island for the production of sugar than 
 is to be found in these plains; it is composed of a 
 strong black mould, of great depth and exceedingly 
 rich and nutritive for the cane, and is highly valu- 
 able also for pasturage; but even on this no care or 
 attention is bestowed, nor are there any pains taken 
 in the breeding of cattle, for which the whole country 
 presents the greatest facilities, from the luxuriance 
 of its grass, and from the whole district being so well 
 watered by rivers meandering through every part of 
 it, and by those springs and smaller streams with 
 which the whole island abounds. No country affords 
 such retreats from the heat of the solar rays as this. 
 Nature seems to have dispensed its blessings for 
 man and beast with a liberal hand; but man here 
 seems to be but little sensible of the beneficence of 
 his Creator. All those elegant structures which once 
 gave the face of these plains and the mountains 
 around them such an air of grandeur, and excited 
 the admiration of the traveller, are demolished, and 
 scarcely a vestige of their original site can be dis- 
 covered. Sometimes a dilapidated stonewall, and the 
 remains of a windmill may point out to the passer- 
 by that near them once stood an extensive range of 
 
286 rnESENT state of iiayti, [chap. x. 
 
 buildings, and pcrhtaps a mansion of some magnifi- 
 cence. The highly productive and very extensive 
 estates once to be seen in the vicinity of La Petite 
 Ance, St. Acul, Limonde, La Grande Riviere, Le 
 Dondon, Marmalade, Limbe, and Plaisance, are 
 now neglected wastes, with little to be seen but the 
 spreading guava, the wild indigo, and a thousand 
 other weeds and shrubs, raising themselves unmo- 
 lested on the very spots which once displayed all the 
 luxuriance of vegetation, aided and matured by the 
 skill and industry of the husbandman. 
 
 Christophe certainly made strong efforts to revive 
 the cultivation of his country, and he made some 
 progress ; but at the period when he was about to 
 carry into effect a more rigid system for the culture 
 of the soil, he was cut off, his plans were laid aside 
 by Boyer, and now, as in every other part of the 
 country, nothing is seen in that district but deso- 
 late wastes. 
 
 The city of Cape Haytien, which is the capital 
 of the north, retains no vestige of its primitive splen- 
 dour. It is, however, a much more pleasant and 
 more elegant place than Port au Prince, and the in- 
 habitants are always kind and courteous to strangers, 
 as they all are in that part of the country which was 
 under Christophe ; a thing which the stranger must 
 not expect at the seat of government, where the peo- 
 ple are quite the reverse, and all spies. It is situate 
 at the extremity of a bay, having the sea to the 
 
€HAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 287 
 
 north, and mountains of considerable elevation on 
 the south. It is strongly fortified, the old batteries 
 of the French having been greatly improved by 
 Christophe, who left nothing undone that could be 
 accomplished in the way of strengthening his capital. 
 Towards the sea the ramparts are very commanding, 
 and an enemy's vessel would find considerable diffi- 
 culty on entering the harbour, as she could only do 
 so within range of the whole forts, which are well 
 mounted with guns of large calibre. The only re- 
 quisite in the event of war would be men possessing 
 sufficient skill and courage to man these works and 
 to defend them. The city is well supplied with 
 pure water, which descends from the mountains, over 
 a gravelled surface, and receiving in its course no 
 stream that can in the least injure its qualities. 
 
 A military force of about five thousand men is 
 kept up in this district, under the command of 
 General Magny. Part of this force garrisons the 
 city, in which there are barracks for their residence; 
 the other part is at different stations on the plains. 
 
 The trade to the cape is somewhat circumscribed, 
 the country round it being not so thickly inhabited 
 as the south, but what little there is seems to be 
 carried on with much more regularity, and a great 
 deal more certainty as to the result, than at Port au 
 Prince. I have heard it generally remarked that 
 the people of the north have a greater sense of ho- 
 noui: and rectitude in their commercial dealings with 
 
288 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. X. 
 
 foreigners, than the inhabitants of the south. Cer- 
 tain it is that Christophe in his time exacted from 
 his people a strict adherence to their word in mat- 
 ters of commerce, and in the event of a disputed 
 claim a foreigner had a chance of redress. Not so in 
 Port au Prince, where, if a foreigner have a demand 
 against a Haytian, it is ten to one against his getting 
 any redress, and fifty to one against his getting 
 paid. 
 
 Christophe, who always shewed a very great at- 
 tention and respect for the British merchants and 
 British subjects at the cape, or in any other part of 
 his dominions, erected a very neat house on an ele- 
 vation near the city, and furnished it somewhat 
 elegantly, in which he had put up billiard tables, 
 expressly as a place of resort for them, and of the 
 whole he made them a present, with his pledge 
 that no person of the country should be permitted to 
 disturb them, nor should the premises be used by 
 his people at any time or for any purposes. 
 
 At no great distance from the city of Cape Hay- 
 tien were those two stupendous works of Christophe, 
 his palace of Sans Souci and the Citadel Henry, or 
 Fort Ferrier, the construction of which shews no little 
 labour and design, and the expense of their erection 
 must have exceeded any thing that can be imagined 
 as the cost of modern works. I cannot describe them 
 better than by quoting the account given of them by 
 a native of Ilayti, in his narrative of Christophers 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 289 
 
 elevation to the throne. " The Citadel Henry," he 
 says, " that palladium of liberty, that majestic bul- 
 wark of independence, that monument of the great- 
 ness, and of the vast combinations of a Henry, is 
 built on the lofty summit of one of the highest moun- 
 tains in the island, whence you may discover to 
 the left the island of Tortuga, and the reflection 
 of its beautiful canal; in front, the gentle risings, 
 with the city of Cape Henry, its roadstead, and the 
 vast expanse of the ocean ; on the right, La Grange, 
 Monte Christi, the city of Fort Royal, Mancheneel 
 Bay, and the surrounding hills. The eye is grati- 
 fied with the prospect of the beautiful plain, and 
 the magnificent carpet of verdure spread before it. 
 At the back, the extended chain of mountains seems 
 as it were the frame to this enchanting picture. 
 The position fortified by nature, and to which art 
 has added all its science, with casemates and bomb 
 proofs, has secured it from being successfully be- 
 sieged, while the mouths of cannon overtop the ele- 
 vation of the high ground, and command the adja- 
 cent territory, affording protection to the whole 
 north, and indeed to Hayti itself, this being the 
 most formidable defence it possesses."" * 
 
 On the subject of this fort, I have before stated 
 that it was built under the directions of an individual 
 said to have been a Scotchman, of the name of 
 
 * P. Saunders. 
 
 u 
 
290 PEESENT STATE OE HAYTT, [cHAP. X. 
 
 Fcrricr, from whom it takes the appellation of Fort 
 Fcrrier. 
 
 Of the magnificence of the palace of Sans Souci, 
 I shall give the description of Saunders, as convey- 
 ing an idea of what it was. " Sans Souci, a town 
 rising into preference, and likely to become the capi- 
 tal of Hayti, has been established. Ravines have 
 been filled up, mountains levelled, and public roads 
 laid out. This superb royal palace, the glory of 
 Hayti, is carried up to a great elevation. The beauty 
 and durability of its construction, its sumptuous 
 apartments, all with inlaid work, and lined with the 
 most beautiful and rarest tapestry, which was amassed 
 at a great expense, and with particular care in the 
 selection ; the furniture and elegant tapestry, se- 
 lected v/ith good taste ; the gardens arranged with 
 a just symmetry, through which meanders a pure 
 stream, having a degree of freshness that particu- 
 larly characterizes it, the jets d'eau, the fruit trees, 
 and European productions, &:c. &c., combine to em- 
 bellish the retreat of a hero, and to attract the admi- 
 ration of strangers; whilst a church, whose noble 
 dome agreeably points out the richness of its archi- 
 tecture, and other public establishments, such as 
 arsenals, dock-yards, and barracks, have sprung up 
 around in spite of the ravages of war. To see the 
 astonishing activity diffused in all these works, one 
 would say that the greatest tranquillity had pre- 
 vailed, and that it was the hand of peace which 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 291 
 
 brought them to perfection ! Immense treasures, tlie 
 fruits of economy in the public administration of 
 finances, fill the spacious cofiPers of the Citadel 
 Henry." '' I know it'\ he says again, " to be one 
 of the intentions of our king to have the rotunda of 
 his palace in the citadel paved and lined with qil^- 
 druples. He is rich enough to do this." 
 
 The palace of Sans Souci was certainly (from the 
 accounts given of it by many individuals now in 
 Hayti, and who have often been admitted to the 
 levees of King Christophe) upon a most magni- 
 ficent scale ; and in elegance of structure, as well as 
 the durability of its materials, but little, if at all 
 inferior to some of the most admired edifices of 
 Europe. Christophe was lavish of his money in the 
 building of this palace as well as the citadel, and 
 whilst they were being erected, he acted with great 
 severity towards his people, whom he compelled to 
 carry the materials to the spot, neither age nor sex, 
 except the decrepid and the very young, being spared. 
 
 Christophe was once visited in this palace by an 
 officer of the British navy, and a relative of a right 
 honourable gentleman high in his Majesty's coun- 
 cils, to whom he shewed great attention and cour- 
 tesy, and expressed great satisfaction at being ho- 
 noured with the calls of British subjects who occa- 
 sionally touched at the cape. In a conversation 
 with this distinguished officer on the subject of this 
 stupendous palace, he said, " that his intentions were 
 
 u2 
 
292 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 to ornament the walls with gold, and that the floors 
 should be laid with silver, that the ambassadors of 
 the world, should any be sent to him, might see how 
 splendidly a western monarch could live.*" 
 
 Fort Ferrier can be easily seen from the sea, and 
 ships outward-bound for any of the western port^, 
 sailing along the north side of the island, have 
 a good view of it from its amazing elevation, the 
 stone of which it is built being so very white as to 
 make it a most excellent land-mark. The palace 
 however cannot be discerned, and since the death 
 of Christophe, it has been mostly destroyed, nothing 
 but the walls being left. All the beautiful carved- 
 work wainscoting has been taken from it, the ma- 
 hogany floor torn up, and the whole burnt by the 
 people; and nothing remains except the outworks, 
 which are converted into apartments for the military 
 who are stationed there. 
 
 Beyond the Massacre, in the old Spanish terri- 
 tory, and on the banks of the Yague, the country is 
 exceedingly productive, but quite neglected. It is 
 only a few years since that a very considerable trade 
 was carried on between Jamaica and Monte Christi, 
 and Puerto de Plata; the produce of those fine val- 
 leys on each bank of the river, as well as of the 
 fertile plains of La Vega Ileal, always found a ready 
 market in the different ports of that island. To- 
 bacco, rice, Indian corn, beans and peas, peculiar to 
 the West Indies, and in great request as food for the 
 
CHAP. X.J OK SAINT DOMINGO. 293 
 
 negroes, were exported in large quantities, as were 
 also horned cattle, mahogany, dye-wood, and often 
 poultry. In return, the people took rum, salted 
 provisions, ironmongery, cotton goods of a coarse 
 quality, blue Yorkshire baize, Osnaburgs, and a va- 
 riety of other articles required for the labourers in 
 wood-cutting and agriculture. The annexation of 
 the Spanish part to the republic stopped this inter- 
 course, and consequently the finest vent for the dis- 
 posing of the produce of their industry became shut, 
 and having no other intercourse, the demand has en- 
 tirely ceased. There is no encouragement therefore 
 left for husbandry,, and all those lands which were 
 before appropriated exclusively to the raising of the 
 several articles which I have before enumerated, are 
 now uncultivated, with the exception of mere patches 
 where vegetables are raised for the im-mediate wants 
 of the people. 
 
 The town of Monte Christi is a place of little 
 resort, its trade having been ruined by the restrictive 
 laws in force in the West Indies. It stands at the 
 extremity of the promontory on the north branch of 
 the Yague. Occasionally American vessels call in, 
 and barter their provisions for mahogany and dye- 
 woods, and sometimes take tobacco, the quality of 
 which is much finer and milder than that of the 
 United States. Contiguous to the river, and parti- 
 cularly on its southern bank, the country abounds 
 with mahogany and dye-woods, and in the mountains, 
 
294? PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 mines were said to exist, containing gold and silver 
 and other valuable ore. But very recently a com- 
 pany formed in London for the purpose of exploring 
 them, found that the undertaking would be attended 
 with a considerable waste of capital, without the 
 possibility of obtaining returns likely to compensate 
 the outlay of the experiment. There is great rea- 
 son to doubt the representations that were made by 
 the Haytian government on the subject of these 
 mines, when they appeared so anxious to have them 
 worked; their sanguine assurances of ultimate suc- 
 cess were only intended to delude, as they could 
 not seriously expect that any beneficial result would 
 attend these operations. 
 
 To the eastward, beyond the town of Santiago, 
 are the plains of La Vega Real, celebrated for their 
 extreme verdure and fertility. They are in a great 
 measure inclosed by the surrounding hills, which 
 form an appearance not unlike an amphitheatre. 
 These plains are capable of producing, were they 
 properly tilled, every description of tropical plants, 
 and in the elevated parts there is every reason to 
 believe that European grain might easily be raised. 
 The temperature of this district makes it a most 
 congenial spot for all sorts of agricultural labour, 
 and the culture of the soil would be rewarded with 
 an ample harvest. The whole of the plains are well 
 watered by innumerable small streams, which^ flow- 
 ing from different parts of the mountains^ empty 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 295 
 
 themselves into the Yuna. This river, in its course 
 to the bay of Sumana, is exceedingly convenient for 
 the wood-cutters who float their mahogany and dye- 
 woods down it into the bay, for the purpose of sale 
 and shipping. 
 
 Sumana, which appears as if it were detached 
 from the main land, is a peninsula, and may be said 
 to be nearly uninhabited. A few American free 
 persons of colour have emigrated thither from the 
 United States, for the purpose of cultivation ; but 
 they have greatly diminished since their arrival, 
 numbers clandestinely leaving it, finding that the 
 assurances held out to them by the Haytian govern- 
 ment were only made for the purpose of deluding 
 them to form a settlement. It is a low and swampy 
 situation, and not likely to be an eligible place for 
 colonization, as fevers and agues are exceedingly 
 prevalent. Notwithstanding all these unfavourable 
 consequences, Bonaparte planned a new city about 
 the middle of the peninsula, to be called Napoleon; 
 for this purpose, I am inclined to think that a survey 
 was taken, but the design was finally given up. The 
 bay of Sumana is very capacious, and affords a most 
 delightful anchorage for shipping ; and it may be 
 justly denominated the key to the Mona Passage, 
 as all ships passing from the north through the pas- 
 sage must be perceived by the vessels at anchor in 
 the bay. 
 
 There is nothing remarkable in the south-cast 
 
296 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X^.- 
 
 end of the island from the city of Santo Domingo to 
 Higuey, with the exception of the extensive plains 
 of Los Llamos, through which the traveller passes 
 to Scibo, and thence to Higuey. These plains 
 have been well described by Mr. Walton in his 
 history of the Spanish colonies, and at the period 
 of his residence in the island, they were without 
 doubt the most delightful pastures in the western 
 world. That writer says, " these astonishing plains 
 constitute almost a sixth of the island, extending 
 nearly to the east end, a distance of more than 
 ninety miles, on a width of about thirty. On them 
 cattle of more than a hundred owners pasture in 
 herds, and are collected, counted, and the young 
 branded at the season when the calf cannot mistake 
 its mother. The dexterity with which the herds- 
 man on horseback with a lance in his hand separates 
 one of his master's brand from the rest, is wonder- 
 ful. In the dry season when the blade is long and 
 rank, it is customary to burn all the grass on the 
 plains, which serves as an annual manure; for in 
 that season the cattle generally take to the forests in 
 search of the herbage which the sun has not had the 
 power to parch. The operation of burning is per- 
 formed by setting fire to the most eastern part of 
 the tract, whence the wind regularly blows; it 
 spreads in long and succeeding volumes, frequently 
 making the traveller recede, and effacing the path 
 through which he has been accustomed to journey." 
 
CHAP. X.] OB SATNt" DOMINGO. 29? 
 
 Subsequently to the repossession of the eastern part 
 by the Spaniards on the expulsion of the French by 
 General Carmichael, a very extensive trade in cattle 
 was carried on with the island of Jamaica, which 
 continued until the union with the west, when the 
 intercourse was restricted, and, consequently, the 
 breeding of cattle has not been so much attended 
 to as formerly, as they have only their internal 
 consumption to take them off. Many are now killed 
 for the skin and tallow ; when the meat is jerked, 
 and the Spaniards from the continent of South 
 America purchase it and ship it to the Havanna, 
 where it is in great request for the slaves, and is 
 called Tassaja. 
 
 The town of Higuey was once of some note from 
 the riches and magnificence of its church, which 
 it appears escaped the ravages of the revolution, 
 and was not visited by those sacrilegious wretches, 
 who devoted all edifices to destruction that had 
 once been the resort of the white inhabitants of the 
 island. The people formerly used to go on a pilgrim- 
 age to the shrine of the Virgin in this church from 
 all parts of the island ; but a few only now under- 
 take it. The Virgin therefore has become poor, and 
 the monks who used to officiate are reduced to great 
 shifts for an existence. I know not if this be a 
 mark of improvement in the Hay tians ; at all events, 
 there seems to be less superstition and bigotry : a 
 little, however, is still left amongst the females. I 
 
298 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. X. 
 
 knew one instance of a female at Port an Prince 
 who undertook a pilgrimage to the shrine of the 
 virgin. She went by water to the city of Santo 
 Domingo ; and on her voyage thither was in great 
 danger of being lost ; but far from being alarmed, 
 she considered it as part of the penance she had to 
 perform before she invoked the saint for a remis- 
 sion of her sins, and therefore exulted at her good 
 luck in meeting with such a disaster on her way. 
 
 The city of Santo Domingo, being, I believe, the 
 oldest city in the republic, has been described by 
 Walton as having been exceedingly strong, regu- 
 larly built, and well fortified, and as containing 
 many public edifices of note. Having since his time 
 gone greatly into decay, it has declined in conse- 
 quence, as well as in its commercial character ; and 
 it is remarkable, that in every place in which 
 Haytian influence predominates, commercial enter- 
 prise, and every other good quality appertaining to 
 man, is sure to sink to the lowest ebb. This may 
 appear extraordinary, but it is true, and the city of 
 Santo Domingo is an example of what I now write ; 
 for at this moment it certainly is in a state of in- 
 conceivable misery, and the greatest poverty and 
 wretchedness prevail amongst the people. No 
 place in the republic is better situated for com- 
 merce, were the people and the government dis- 
 posed to encourage it ; but no such disposition is 
 manifested by cither : and thoiic merchants, who 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 299 
 
 formerly had extensive dealings with the Spanish 
 Main, have thought it adviseable to leave it and take 
 up their abode in a country where they are likely 
 to receive some encouragement, and may be able to 
 invest their capital, with some chance of receiving 
 an equivalent return for their industry. 
 
 The city is nearly a mile in circumference, and 
 at this time does not contain above fourteen thou- 
 sand inhabitants, although in the time of the 
 Spaniards, including its attached district, it con- 
 tained twenty-two thousand, and yet the population 
 is said by the government to have increased exceed- 
 ingly. 
 
 The harbour of Santo Domingo is a very in- 
 different one, being too much exposed to the south 
 winds, but the ground is good for holding. It was 
 in this harbour that Admiral Sir John Duckworth 
 defeated a French squadron in the beginning of 
 1806. They were at anchor nearly under the walls 
 of the city, from the batteries of which they re- 
 ceived some protection; but the British were not 
 to be intimidated. Putting every obstacle at defiance, 
 they boldly entered, attacked the French line in 
 succession, and obtained a decisive victory, taking 
 and destroying the greatest part. 
 
 The river Ozama, which washes the eastern side 
 of the city, is a strong and wide stream, and is of 
 great advantage to it, as it not only carries off a 
 great deal of the decayed animal and vegetable 
 
300 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 matter that is at times to be found in the vicinity, 
 but offers great facilities for floating down timber 
 and for carrying provisions and produce from the 
 interior of the country. 
 
 To the westward of the city of Santo Domingo 
 as far as Jacmel, the whole country is very little in- 
 habited, although it is most beautifully picturesque, 
 and affords every encouragement to the cultivator 
 from the extreme richness of its soil. The bay of Ocoa 
 has several convenient anchorages for shipping, and 
 it is here that the largest quantity of mahogany and 
 dye-woods is shipped for Europe and the United 
 States ; and formerly cattle were purchased, of 
 which the supply was extensive and the prices ex- 
 ceedingly cheap. The Neyva, a river which has 
 its source in the mountains of Cibas, and runs 
 through a very rich and delightfully romantic dis- 
 trict, emptying itself into a bay of the same name, 
 receives vessels of small draught of water, for the 
 purpose of conveying the products of the country 
 on its banks to Jacmel for a market. In the 
 neighbourhood of the banks of the Neyva are many 
 remains of sugar settlements. This district is well 
 watered, and occasionally shaded from the power 
 of the sun ; and as the soil is strong, it must have 
 been highly productive in sugar as well as con- 
 genial for the breeding of cattle : nothing can ex- 
 ceed its verdure, and its fertility is generally ad- 
 mitted. The palmetto, or mountain-cabbage, grows 
 
CHAP. X.] Oa SAINT DOMINGO. 301 
 
 in this district in a most flourishing state, demon- 
 strating the richness of the soil, as this vegetable 
 will not arrive at very high perfection except in 
 tracts of country where the soil possesses great 
 nutritive powers as well as a moderate degree of 
 moisture. 
 
 From the Neyva to the west of the peninsula at 
 Cape Tiburon the only places now of any trade or 
 of the least note, are Jacmel and Aux Cases. Jac- 
 mel was formerly a place of great trade from its 
 situation, being so immediately convenient for carry- 
 ing on an intercourse with the Spanish ports of the 
 island, and likewise with the Spanish ports in South 
 America; it had also a communication with Jamaica, 
 which was valuable to it, but the restriction annihi- 
 lated this branch of its commerce ; and as the inter- 
 course with South America subsided when the re- 
 volution in that countrv commenced, it lost its com- 
 merce altogether, and it is now a poor inconsider- 
 able place, without trade, and without inhabitants 
 of any respectability or means. The vicinity of 
 Jacmel was never much celebrated for the extent of 
 its cultivation, though in proportion to its means 
 the returns to the cultivator seemed to meet his ex- 
 pectations. Sugar and coffee were the principal 
 articles of growth ; some cotton and a small propor- 
 tion of indigo were also produced. Scarcely any 
 thing is now produced except coffee, and but little 
 of that commodity. The intermediate places to 
 
302 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [CHAP. X. 
 
 Aux Cases are now nearly neglected, Aquin being 
 the only one now frequented ; and there are only a 
 few inhabitants, such as fishermen, who carry on a 
 kind of contraband trade in coffee to avoid the ex- 
 port duty, which can be done in these quarters 
 easily enough, the officers of the customs being so 
 ill paid by the government, that they are necessi- 
 tated to make up the deficiency by participating in 
 the profit of defrauding the revenue over which they 
 are placed as guardians. 
 
 Aux Cases is a place of some trade and a port 
 from which is shipped a large portion of the pro- 
 duce of this part of the country. In the neighbour- 
 hood of Aux Cases the soil is exceedingly pro- 
 ductive, and to the cultivator used to return as 
 much as any other part of the island, requiring at 
 the same time less labour and less means ; but now, 
 however, like its adjoining districts, it has gone into 
 great neglect, and exhibits on the face of it that re- 
 laxation in the culture which is so general through- 
 out the republic. Indeed in the whole of this part 
 the sugar cane is but little planted; in fact, with the 
 exception of an instance or two in which English 
 gentlemen happen to hold property in trust, the cane 
 plantations are but little attended to ; they are al- 
 lowed to go on years in succession without cleaning, 
 without manure, or any other requisite to render 
 them productive. There are several British houses 
 in Aux Cases who used to carry on an extensive 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 303 
 
 trade with the interior, and with the Spanish Main 
 and Jamaica, but they have sustained considerable 
 losses by the Haytians ; and the restriction preclud- 
 ing an intercourse with other islands, they have 
 only the chance of adventuring to the South Ame- 
 rican ports, and this only has been permitted re- 
 cently by an act of the legislative body ; for of late 
 years goods exported received no drawback, but 
 were subjected to the full duties, unless they were 
 exported within six months, when they only paid 
 half duties, or six per cent. But even this per- 
 mission cannot benefit the merchant here, the trade 
 direct to the Spanish Main supplying that market 
 so abundantly, that the chance of an advantageous 
 speculation is but very doubtful. 
 
 The whole of this vicinity and the district south- 
 ward of the mountains of La Hotte, may be said to 
 present the finest field for agricultural operations. 
 A rich and nutritive soil, a congenial climate, and 
 fine, refreshing, and seasonable rains, with a plentiful 
 supply of water, all co-operating, hold out to the cul- 
 tivator the greatest encouragement to exert his skill 
 and industry, and to avail himself of those gifts which 
 the hand of Providence has so liberally dispensed. 
 But in the Haytian no such energy must be expect- 
 ed; nothing requiring the least effort of the mind or 
 exertion of the body will rouse the energy of that 
 slothful and inactive being, who idles away his time, 
 careless of the consequences that may spring from 
 
3Q4: PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X, 
 
 liis negligence and his irresistible desire for repose 
 and quietude. In fact, I fear that nothing can be 
 done that can prove effectual in stimulating the 
 Haytian ; it would be a task of no little labour to 
 lead him; to drive him, would perhaps endanger the 
 state. 
 
 From Aux Cases through the country by Cape 
 Tiburon to Jeremie, cultivation appears generally 
 in a very backward state. The passing traveller 
 sees nothing to attract him, except now and then an 
 object which reminds him that the vicinity was 
 once the scene of great havoc and desolation, and 
 that all that was valuable and useful had been de- 
 jstroyed by some general convulsion. The remains 
 of habitations, remnants of walk, and scattered im- 
 plements of tropical labour, are to be seen in all 
 directions. Here an iron boiler, half buried in the 
 surface ; there an old iron shaft of a mill, or some 
 other part of the apparatus for the manufacture of 
 sugar, and often a dismounted cannon, arrest the 
 attention of the traveller as the wretched memorials 
 of a devastating war. 
 
 In the district of Jeremie, which produced at one 
 period large crops of coffee, cocoa, indigo, and cot- 
 ton, but few symptoms of agricultural industry are 
 visible. The finest plantations of the French are 
 row totally obscured and overspread with the creeper, 
 the windband, and numberless other species of indi- 
 genous weeds. In vain does the traveller look for 
 
CllAP. X.] OR SAIN*T DOMINGO. 305r 
 
 those settlements which wore tlie gay appearance of 
 culture, and for those plantations that enriched the 
 proprietors, and placed them in that ease and afflu- 
 ence to which their industry and their perseverance 
 so justly entitled them. Instead of such a scene, 
 the whole country, as we approach towards the capi- 
 tal, exhibits nothing but neglect and waste, and 
 their concomitants, poverty and wretchedness. 
 
 The plains Leogane, which once excited the ad- 
 miration of travellers, and formed the scene of so 
 much contention during the heat of the rebellion, are 
 partially cultivated, and on the elevations that sur- 
 round them a patch is in some places selected by a set- 
 tler for the raising of vegetables for his own consump- 
 tion; but I could perceive nothing which indicated a 
 regular scene of cultivation, or which had the appear- 
 ance of a system of agriculture likely to be beneficial 
 to the proprietor of the soil. This state of things 
 appears however not confined to a particular district; 
 there is a similarity of negligence throughout the 
 whole of the republic, and it would be an invidious 
 distinction to select one part as worse than another* 
 
 Nothing can be more laborious, nor more incon- 
 venient and unpleasant, than travelling in Hayti, 
 from the state of the roads, from the want of inns 
 for accommodation, and from the innumerable rivers 
 and streams over which the traveller has to pass, 
 and which, at all seasons, he is obliged to ford, often 
 swimming his horse, and exposed to great danger 
 
 X 
 
306 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 from the rapidity and force of the current (to say 
 nothing of being nearly up to his shoulders in 
 water). There are no bridges in the island ; the Hay- 
 tians being all good swimmers, and much addicted 
 to ablutions, deem them unnecessary. In the time 
 of the French, the roads through the whole of their 
 division were admirable ; indeed they were admitted 
 to be the best in the West Indies; the materials 
 being adjacent to them, and the expense of putting 
 them on the required parts so very trifling, they, were 
 always kept in the most perfect order, and carriages 
 of all descriptions could pass with the same facility 
 as in any country in Europe, from one extremity of 
 the colony to the other. The accommodations for 
 strangers too were of the first order, and no incon- 
 venience was experienced for the want of those com- 
 forts so requisite after a journey under a tropical sun. 
 But the scene is quite changed. It is almost im- 
 possible to describe the state of the roads at this 
 moment. It is evident that, notwithstanding the 
 heavy contributions levied for their repair, they have 
 remained untouched since the revolution, and there 
 seems a disposition on the part of the government to 
 efface every vestige of the former roads, leaving the 
 people who travel to beat out their own way in the 
 most easy manner they can. On approaching the 
 capital, they are, it is true, somewhat better than in 
 the interior. Here a little attention is bestowed 
 upon them, whilst in other districts they are unno- 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 307 
 
 ticed. All the criminals sentenced to labour on the 
 roads are employed in the vicinity of Port an 
 Prince ; and this seems to be a measure suggested 
 from its being economical, as the criminals have an 
 opportunity of supporting themselves by begging. 
 
 It may not be amiss to explain in this part how 
 the criminals are treated in the republic, and to shew 
 what nice feelings the government has with regard 
 to their treatment during the hours of labour, and 
 the way in which they are provided for. All crimi- 
 nals who are sentenced to work on the public roads 
 for a stated time, are not chained together, but 
 roped together by pairs, the rope being first attached 
 to the neck, then descending to the body, where it 
 is fastened ; the ends of the ropes are joined, so as 
 to leave the space of about three yards between the 
 criminals thus tied together. They labour from 
 daylight until sunset, being allowed an interval of 
 about an hour and a half for dinner at noon. The 
 government pretends to provide for them; but to 
 save the expense of provisions, two of these crimi- 
 nals, accompanied by two soldiers with their bayonets 
 fixed, are permitted to go about to beg provisions 
 for the subsistence of the whole, and unless they 
 chance to be very successful, they get but a very 
 poor allowance, and often are left to fast until the 
 next day. They are in gangs of about fifteen or 
 twenty, and over every gang nearly as many soldiers, 
 and an officer, all armed, arc placed to force them 
 
 x2 
 
308 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. X, 
 
 to labour. At night they are incarcerated in the 
 gaol, and their bed is composed simply of boards 
 without any covering ; they are allowed no supper. 
 Admitting their criminality to be great, and their 
 punishment just, still such a system has a degree of 
 barbarity in it which can never prevail except among 
 savage nations. What ! convicted felons sentenced 
 to hard labour, and directed to beg for their sub- 
 sistence at the point of the bayonet ! It seems in- 
 credible. The thing is too revolting to be admitted, 
 many will say; but I declare it to be a fact, and call 
 upon the people of Hay ti to contradict it if they can. 
 It is the labour of these criminals which alone ren- 
 ders the roads approaching the city somewhat pass- 
 able. 
 
 From Jacmel to the capital, the road is in the 
 worst state, and it is evident that it has not under- 
 gone any repair since the revolution. It is almost 
 impassable in places, and never receives the least 
 attention from one end of the year to the other. If 
 the roads were in a condition to offer the least en- 
 couragement to travellers, I cannot imagine a more 
 romantic nor a more enchanting ride. Ascending 
 the lofty mountain of Tavite, the scenery is beauti- 
 ful. To the southward is seen the Carribean sea, 
 with Jacmel and its plain immediately below; on 
 the other side may be viewed the island of Gonaives, 
 the bay of Port au Prince, with the town of Leo- 
 ganc and its extensive plains. In every direction 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 309 
 
 also are to be seen small cordilleras intersecting, 
 between which are valleys whose verdure is peren- 
 nial, and having natural pastures of the most luxu- 
 riant growth, which are seldom visited by the hus- 
 bandman, and remain untouched by beast. 
 
 From the capital to the extremity of the western 
 peninsula and Aux Cases, the roads are very bad. 
 To the latter place a chaise may penetrate by way 
 of Leogane, Petit Goane, Morogane, and Aquin ; 
 few persons however who are accustomed to travel 
 between the two places would venture to drive, but 
 would rather ride, as the safest mode of travelling. 
 Going to the north from Port au Prince, the old 
 road remains, but in such a state as to be in places 
 almost impassable. AVhen the country was in cul- 
 tivation, and these roads were in their finest order, 
 a tour through the northern departments of the 
 country must have afforded the traveller much gra- 
 tification. 
 
 From Gonaives to Cape Haytien, the road is 
 somewhat more easy for travellers, and in fact, 
 throughout the whole of Christophers country, they 
 are infinitely better than in the south, for he attended 
 to their repairs, and saw that they were kept in good 
 condition. The Escalier, about half way between 
 the two places, deserves the notice of strangers, and 
 perhaps is the most extraordinary road in the west- 
 ern world, with the exception of some that are to 
 be met with in Columbia and in Mexico. No name 
 
310 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. X. 
 
 could be more appropriate, for it certainly has the 
 appearance of a staircase. This road ascends very 
 high, and the precipices on its side are enough to 
 intimidate the boldest rider who attempts to ascend 
 or descend it. 
 
 Through the whole of the republic I believe there 
 is not a decent inn for the accommodation of travel- 
 lers ; at all events, I never had the good fortune to 
 iind one, nor did I hear of one in any direction. 
 There are huts on the road side, into which those 
 who are travelling sometimes go to obtain lodging 
 for the night ; but even in these, a bed would not 
 be easily found, and instead of a pallet, some boards 
 thrown on the floor must suffice to repose on. On 
 the summit of the mountains of Tavite, there is a 
 hut of this description, and on passing that road on 
 one occasion I was benighted, and took up my abode 
 there until morning. A bed I was unable to obtain, 
 there being only one in the house, and that was 
 taken up by a Frenchman who had arrived a little 
 before me. Mine hostess of the mountain, however^ 
 being a good-natured sable creature, was kind enough 
 to prepare a place on which I might recline during 
 my stay. Whilst she was engaged in adjusting my 
 apartment, I thought it a measure of necessity to 
 prepare myself for it by a copious libation of brandy, 
 as a somniferous cordial ; a great requisite in these 
 Haytian inns, as one is sometimes rather disturbed 
 by an insect that is very common in them, and of 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 311 
 
 which it is not an easy matter for a man to disencum- 
 ber himself, as they evince an extraordinary pertina- 
 city in adhering to the body, and excite a sensation 
 not at all calculated to invite sleep. Having fortified 
 myself agaiiist the offensive operations of my dreaded 
 enemy, I prepared to enter my apartment, but this 
 was attended with some difficulty, its dimensions 
 being only sufficient for a dwarf, and not calculated 
 for a person somewhat beyond the middle size. I 
 was obliged therefore to resort to the plan usually 
 adopted on board of small vessels, by putting my 
 head in first, and then by degrees to get in my body 
 and legs ; and this place about four feet square, on 
 boards covered with my cloak, being one of those 
 apartments of the inn usually appropriated for stran- 
 gers, became my lodging for the night. To sleep 
 was impossible, for the bugs, rats, and croaking 
 lizards, haunted me the whole night, and I rose 
 again before daylight just as fatigued as when I 
 arrived the evening before, and with the additional 
 knowledge of having a dollar to pay for my bed. 
 The houses of the negroes in the British colonies 
 are a palace compared with this infifor travellers; 
 and yet this is one of the most frequented places in 
 the republic. 
 
 In most parts of the West Indies there are public 
 places to which people frequently resort for amuse- 
 ment on holidays, but there is no such thing in 
 Hayti, except when parties occasionally go from 
 
312 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHxVr. X. 
 
 Fort au Prince to the lakes of the Cul cle Sac, but 
 even this is attended with great inconvenience, 
 there being no places for the reception of travellers; 
 and persons are therefore obliged to seek and beg 
 temporary accommodations of the people in their 
 vicinity, from whom at times you do not receive 
 much civility, and they exact enormously for every 
 thing you purchase. Were there any place fit for 
 the reception of people, a tour to the lakes is worth 
 undertaking, though the roads to them, like all the 
 rest, are execrable. The largest of these lakes is 
 named La Laguna de Henriquillo, and is about 
 fifty miles in circumference, situate to the eastward 
 of the old line of demarcation, and about thirty 
 miles from the sea at the mouth of the Rio de Pe- 
 dernales. Its water is salt, and although at this 
 distance from the coast, there is the same motion in 
 its waters as in the neighbouring ocean. The coun- 
 try on its banks is exceedingly attractive and highly 
 picturesque, and exhibits a scene of natural fertility 
 and beauty scarcely to be equalled in any other part 
 of the Antilles. The game peculiar to the country 
 is very abundant in this district, and the inhabitants 
 vv'ho reside near the lakes subsist solely upon it and 
 the fish which they can obtain in great abundance. 
 The smaller lake, called Etang du Cul de Sac, 
 contains fresh water, and the fish in it are very 
 numerous. The soil in the vicinity of these lakes 
 is the deepest and richest mould, and not having 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 313 
 
 for years been disturbed for tillage, has become 
 highly nutritive, from the animal and vegetable 
 matter which decays annually upon its surface. 
 
 The value of land throughout the republic is 
 greatly deteriorated, from the impossibility of making 
 a money value from it within any moderate time. 
 Labour being so high, and the difficulty of finding 
 labourers for cultivation so very great, that the lands 
 in the possession of the government lie in an un- 
 tilled state, without any person evincing the slightest 
 •disposition to purchase them. Land also in the pos- 
 session of individuals is similarly circumstanced; 
 and those who are large proprietors cannot effect a 
 sale of any produce which they may have beyond 
 the quantity which they can consume ; consequently 
 a proprietor may have an immense extent of land, 
 and yet be quite unable to derive any benefit 
 from it by cultivation, or to convert it into money, 
 for the want of purchasers. Thus, as I have before 
 stated, there is no individual wealth in the country, 
 because, although a man may have very large landed 
 possessions, still those possessions are unavailable, 
 for they produce him nothing, as he can seldom find 
 persons disposed either to occupy or purchase them. 
 There are some instances of proprietors leasing 
 their lands to persons who undertake to cultivate 
 them, for which they receive about one-third of 
 the produce; but this is far from being general, 
 and I imagine can only be accomplished by military 
 
314 PKESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. X. 
 
 men who have the command of troops, and who are 
 thereby enabled to till them by working parties daily 
 sent out for that purpose. 
 
 The finest land in the republic would not sell for 
 more than sixty dollars per acre, although contigu- 
 ous to a port for shipping, and of a quality so strong 
 and nutritive, as to be capable of growing any of the 
 tropical productions. The mountain-lands, and the 
 lighter descriptions in the plains, suitable for cocoa 
 and cotton, can be obtained for a price varying be- 
 tween twenty and thirty dollars in any quantity from 
 ten to five hundred acres. In the plains of the Ar- 
 tibanite, where the soil is exceedingly rich and fer- 
 tilized by the overflowings of that river in the 
 months of May and November, and which has been 
 yearly improving its condition, from having been 
 upwards of thirty years out of cultivation, I have 
 known small plots of land, for horticultural purposes, 
 sold for forty dollars per acre. In those districts 
 where indigo and cotton were formerly most generally 
 planted, for the growth of which the soil is suitable, 
 the situation peculiarly adapted, and the climate and 
 seasons congenial, the price of land seldom exceeds 
 thirty dollars per acre. I know an instance of a sale 
 of land, once an old cotton plantation, which only 
 brought twenty dollars per acre for one part, and 
 about twelve for another. 
 
 In the northern department, about Limonde and 
 La Grande Riviere, land is exceedingly low, and 
 
CHAP. X.] OR SAIXT DOMINGO. 315 
 
 notwithstanding its high repute for all the purposes 
 of cultivation, it seldom exceeds forty or forty-five 
 dollars per acre, and even at those prices it is diffi- 
 cult to find purchasers, except for mere plots to be 
 occupied in raising vegetables. The finest pasture- 
 lands, having all the advantages of shade and water, 
 and in all the luxuriance of vegetation, can scarcely 
 find purchasers, and will not bring above forty dol- 
 lars per acre. With respect to lands on the coast 
 they are generally in waste, unless they happen to 
 be immediately in the vicinity of a town, when some 
 of them are occupied as small settlements for vege- 
 tables and for raising poultry for the markets : but 
 there are no extensive plantations of sugar or coffee 
 situate very near the sea, although formerly the 
 whole coast was in cultivation as far as it was prac- 
 ticable to extend it. 
 
 In the plains of Cul de Sac^, in the neighbourhood 
 of La Croix des Bouquets, the land is a little occu- 
 pied, but in possession of individuals who have held 
 it since the distribution in the time of Toussaint and 
 Dessalines; and although in this part of the country 
 the soil is exceedingly deep and strong, land hardly 
 finds purchasers. Land again in the mountains 
 varies in price according to its situation. In those 
 valleys surrounded by the cordilleras that are so nu- 
 merous in the country, and in which the verdure is 
 constant, which are finely watered, and have a de- 
 lightful temperature through the year, the land 
 
316 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, ETC. [OHAP. X, 
 
 sometimes brings fifty dollars per acre, whilst tracts 
 exposed to the north and north-easterly winds, and 
 having rapid descents, are seldom worth purchasing, 
 and few people buy them; they are generally given 
 by the government to superannuated soldiers, who 
 are allowed to leave the army and turn cultivators. 
 Land in the towns and cities is sold at moderate 
 prices, much lower than might be imagined. A lot, 
 containing a frontage of sixty feet, with a depth of 
 forty or fifty feet, eligibly situate for the purposes 
 of trade, may be bought in Port au Prince for about 
 two hundred dollars. This may seem surprising to 
 persons unacquainted with the country, and who 
 have been led to believe that Hayti is in a most 
 flourishing state ; but it is true, and at once shews 
 that poverty is generally prevalent, and that there 
 is no security for property in whatever commodity 
 it may be vested. Houses and land are a very in- 
 secure tenure under such a government as that 
 which at present exists in Hayti, and whilst such a 
 constitution endures, and such inefiicient persons 
 are permitted to command, but little improvement 
 can be expected, and the value of property, instead 
 of increasing, will certainly decline. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 Agriculture. — Crops in Toussaint's and Dessalines' time, 
 — System of Christophe and Petion. — Decline under 
 Boyer. — Crops in his time. — Attempts to revive it. — 
 Coercion resorted to. — Code Rural — doubts on enforc- 
 ing its clauses. — Disposal of lands. — Consequences from 
 it. — Incompetency of planters. — State of cultivation of 
 sugar, coffee, cocoa, cotton, indigo. — Free labour, — Con- 
 sequences arising from it — its inefficacy, etc. 
 
 I SHALL now endeavour to detail the decline of 
 agriculture in Hayti, and to offer a few remarks 
 upon its present state; as well as to shew that under 
 the present inefficient government, very faint hopes 
 only can be held out of any revival, or that the 
 republic of Hayti can ever reach that eminence and 
 repute which once belonged to Saint Domingo as a 
 French colony. 
 
 In various parts of this work I have observed that 
 the decline of agriculture commenced immediately 
 after the improvident and impolitic measures pur- 
 sued by the national assembly of France, and after 
 the first partial revolt of the slave population: and 
 that all the energy of the successive chiefs who have 
 subsequently governed the country, and who have 
 promulgated several edicts to enforce or encourage 
 
318 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. XI. 
 
 cultivation, has not been sufficiently powerful to 
 keep up that regular system of tillage from which, 
 in her former state, she derived such advantages. 
 True it is, that great efforts were made by Tous- 
 saint, Dessalines, and Christophe, to infuse into the 
 people a taste for husbandry, and to impress on 
 them that the surest way to arrive at affluence is by 
 an undeviating perseverance in the cultivation of 
 those lands which had fallen into their possession; 
 that the only true riches of a country are to be de- 
 rived from the soil ; and that commerce, although a 
 very powerful auxiliary, is only a secondary means 
 by which a nation can arrive at opulence, or its 
 people attain to any advancement in wealth. But 
 their efforts were unavailing in part, though they 
 certainly did more to keep up cultivation than has 
 been attempted since their days. The proclamation 
 of Toussaint in the year 1800 was a powerful docu- 
 ment, and had a great effect as an incitement to 
 labour ; and his solicitude rCvSpecting an intercourse 
 with Europe and the United States shewed that he 
 wished to adopt every expedient by which encou- 
 ragement could be given to the cultivator; to find a 
 vent for their productions, in order to enhance their 
 value, and thus stimulate the occupiers of the soil 
 to further exertions. He was extremely solicitous to 
 introduce an organized system of cultivation which 
 would eventually aggrandize his country. Coercion 
 he knew to be absolutely necessary. He was well 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMIXGO. 319 
 
 aware that without this nothing could be accom- 
 plished. But the state of popular feeling rendered 
 the rigid exaction of duty in agricultural labour a 
 dangerous experiment; he therefore decided on 
 adopting a mean between two extremes which, 
 while it excited no dissatisfaction among the peo- 
 ple, would provide for the exigences of his govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Toussaint unquestionably pursued a plan which, 
 had he not been seized by the French general, and 
 in defiance of the laws of honour and nations so in- 
 humanly transported to France, would in time have 
 so far restored agriculture, and placed his country 
 in so flourishing a condition, that in a few years it 
 would have rivalled even the most happy period of 
 its agricultural and commercial greatness. His ob- 
 ject was clearly to advance by degrees, and to 
 stimulate his people to the culture of the soil, by 
 holding it up as the most noble pursuit of which they 
 could possibly make choice ; to infuse into them a 
 taste for industry; and to give them a relish for 
 those rural occupations which cultivation required, 
 and for which, the extremely rich and fertile soil of 
 the country would so amply and so quickly reward 
 them. He had also made great strides towards im- 
 pressing them with an idea that they had many 
 wants, which, although artificial, yet were necessary 
 towards advancing them in the opinion of the world. 
 To teach them this efFcctually, and to impress it 
 
320 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. XT* 
 
 seriously, would have been a work of time, but he 
 made great efforts, and he began to perceive that 
 they had not been unavailing. But wherever he 
 discovered an invincible indisposition to receive 
 these salutary lessons and a total disregard of his 
 admonitions and persuasions, he tried what force 
 would accomplish ; and consequently the law for 
 enforcing agriculture was enacted, and all people 
 were directed to make choice of the plantations on 
 which they were disposed to labour, prohibiting all 
 persons from living in idleness and sloth. The es- 
 tate and the employer being thus once selected, the 
 labourer was not permitted to recall his choice, unless 
 permission to do this were granted him by the 
 officer commanding the district or one of the munici- 
 pal authorities. Hence the labourers became once 
 more slaves in fact, although not so in name. 
 
 When this law was promulgated, Toussaint began 
 to exert the power which he possessed to enforce it, 
 and cultivation began to raise its head in a most 
 eminent degree. The sugar estates exhibited la- 
 bour going on with the same spirit and success as 
 in former times ; the coffee settlements displayed a 
 busy scene in every direction throughout the colony; 
 and the cotton and cocoa plantations shewed that 
 they were not to be neglected in the midst of this 
 animated and interesting struggle for the revival of 
 a country's greatness and a nation's wealth. But 
 here coercion did the work, here was compulsory 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 321 
 
 labour resorted to, because it was sanctioned by the 
 law, and those who held the power were more than 
 equal to those who felt a disposition to resist it. 
 The whip, that symbol of office of the principal 
 negro, was dispensed with, it is true, but the culti- 
 vators were placed under the apprehension of a more 
 effective weapon, for they were attended through 
 the day by a military guard, and the bayonet and 
 the sabre superseded the cat and the lash. To the 
 astonishment of the leading people in the country, 
 the cultivators submitted to this coercion without a 
 murmur ; and it was not until French intrigue was 
 industriously set to work to instil into their minds 
 that their condition was worse than when they were 
 slaves, that any disposition was shewn to oppose 
 the principle of compulsory labour ; and even this 
 opposition was far from being general. When we 
 take into consideration that the population under 
 Toussaint had greatly diminished, and that the 
 cultivators in his time exceeded very little more 
 than half of the slaves that were employed in agri- 
 culture in the time of the French, and compare the 
 returns of produce at the respective periods, it must 
 be evident that the system ot coercion resorted to 
 by Toussaint, must have been to the full as rigid 
 as that which existed at any former period, or it 
 would have been impossible for him to have carried 
 on cultivation to so great an extent. 
 
 In the early part of this work I have stated the 
 
 Y 
 
322 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 quantity of produce exported in the year 1791, 
 which was the most flourishing period of the French, 
 and the number of slaves that were employed in the 
 colony. That the reader may more clearly see the 
 difference at the two periods, I shall enumerate the 
 principal articles again. It appears by various au- 
 thorities that the exports were as follow : in 1791 — 
 
 Sugar 1 63,405,220 pounds. 
 
 Coffee 68,151,180 ditto. 
 
 Cotton 6,286,1 26 ditto. 
 
 Indigo 930,016 ditto. 
 
 Molasses 29,502 hogsheads. 
 
 Rum ,, 303 puncheons. 
 
 And that there were employed for all the purposes 
 of cultivation, four hundred and fifty-five thousand 
 slaves. The most productive year under his sway, 
 will be found to exhibit the following returns of ex- 
 ports : — 
 
 Sugar 53,400,000 pounds. 
 
 Coffee 34,370,000 ditto. 
 
 Cotton 4,050,000 ditto. 
 
 Cocoa 234,600 ditto. 
 
 Indigo 37,600 ditto. 
 
 Molasses 9,128 hogsheads. 
 
 According to Mr. Humboldt, the cultivators em- 
 ployed to carry on the whole of the works of agri- 
 culture, and to produce the above exports, did not 
 exceed two hundred and ninety thousand. In addi- 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAIKT DOMINGO. 323 
 
 tion to the foregoing returns should be taken mto 
 consideration the condition into which the soil had 
 been brought by the exertions and the judicious 
 measures pursued by this chief from the year 1798, 
 when he became the leader of the people, to the time 
 of his seizure. All those estates on which culture 
 had so successfully recommenced, were so much 
 improved by his system, that the greatest expect- 
 ations were entertained respecting the produce of 
 future exertions ; but the fall of this chief, and the 
 renewal of the contest between the people and the 
 French, threw every thing again into confusion, and 
 the work of cidtivation for a time ceased, with the 
 exception of the exertions made by the women, who 
 applied themselves to labour, and their efforts were 
 not altogether unavailing, for they proceeded with 
 the lighter labour of the plantations, which was ex- 
 ceedingly beneficial. 
 
 AVhen Dessalines assumed the command, the 
 country was in a state of great irritability, and he 
 could not therefore devote that attention to agricul- 
 ture which his predecessor had done. But when he 
 had succeeded in expelling the French from the 
 island, and had restored some degree of tranquillity, 
 and the people became somewhat free from appre- 
 hension of future broils, he began to devise means 
 for reviving cultivation; but he wanted the dis- 
 cretion and the temper, as well as that knowledge of 
 the people which Toussaint possessed. The latter 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI, 
 
 pursued a system of culture, that in the first in* 
 stance was easy and acceptable to them, and when 
 he saw that they began to relax in their duty, 
 he began to enforce it more rigidly, and under the 
 sanction of the law inflicted punishment with no 
 light hand, in cases of disobedience and refractory 
 conduct. But Dessalines acted differently and most 
 injudiciously, for he rushed upon the cultivators so 
 suddenly, and with so tyrannical a hand, that dis- 
 obedience began to be general; and those people who 
 had in his predecessor's time been the most indus- 
 trious and most forward in setting an example to 
 their fellow-labourers became supine and inactive 
 through his oppressive proceedings. Dessalines 
 knew well that force alone could compel his coun- 
 trymen to work, and that nothing could be obtained 
 from them if they were left to their own will; but 
 he was too precipitate and hasty in introducing his 
 measures of coercion. He even compelled his sol- 
 diers to labour in the field in parties, on such of the 
 government estates as had not been farmed out, and 
 for which they received a trifling addition to their 
 regular military pay. But all his exertions were in- 
 effectual in producing such returns as those which 
 followed the efforts of Toussaint. Both knew that 
 coercion was the only way by which cultivation could 
 be carried on, and they both resorted to it. With 
 one it succeeded in a degree which equalled his most 
 sanguine expectations, because he advanced pro- 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 325 
 
 gressively, and the people did not feel it so se- 
 verely; whilst the other burst upon the cultivators 
 with an unmerciful hand and inflicted such punish- 
 ments for disobedience as made them determine on 
 resistance, and the consequence was, that a revolt fol- 
 lowed, and Dessalines fell. By a document given 
 me by an individual now living in Hayti, and who 
 was attached to the suite of the tyrant, it appears 
 that with all his power and exertions, his returns 
 from the soil fell much below those of his prede- 
 cessor. In 1804, which seems to have yielded about 
 the largest return of his three years, the exports 
 were the following : — 
 
 Sugar 47,600,000 pounds. 
 
 CofFee 31,000,000 ditto. 
 
 Cotton 5,000,000 ditto. 
 
 Cocoa 201,800 ditto. 
 
 Indigo 55,400 ditto. 
 
 Molasses 10,655 hogsheads. 
 
 The number of the cultivators at this period has 
 not been stated, though I have been informed by 
 respectable individuals that they were as numerous 
 as in the time of Toussaint, but that from the very 
 harsh proceedings of Dessalines a great number left 
 their homes and fled to the eastern part of the island, 
 and there lived in the woods and recesses of the 
 mountains until they heard of his death. 
 
 In the time of Christophe and Petion the culture 
 of the soil was carried on by the former with some 
 
326 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 spirit, whilst the Latter allowed it to relax in a most 
 extraordinary degree. Christophe pursued it with 
 strong compulsory measures, as may be seen by his 
 adoption of the code of Toussaint, but Petion left 
 every thing to the will and inclination of his people. 
 The government of the north, by means of its agri- 
 cultural pre-eminence, had a flowing treasury, and 
 its people advanced in affluence from the effects of 
 industry ; but the government of the south, from 
 supineness and from a disregard of cultivation, was 
 reduced to the lowest state of poverty, and was 
 driven to expedients exceedingly ruinous in their 
 consequences. By Christophe the people were 
 taught to love agricultural pursuits, as conducive 
 to their happiness and comforts ; and were made to 
 understand that cultivation would be enforced, and 
 that the disobedient and the indolent would be 
 visited with the full penalty of the law. By Petion 
 every class of persons were permitted to pursue 
 those courses to which their tastes and their will led 
 them. Uncontrolled by any regulations of the state, 
 they never pursued cultivation beyond their own 
 immediate wants ; and beyond the supply of those 
 wants, which v/ere inconsiderable, no surplus was 
 left for the use of government or for the purposes 
 of commerce. Whilst the north excited some degree 
 of interest in the mind of the traveller as he pursued 
 his journey through its several districts, by an ap- 
 pearance of industry and cultivation, the south dis- 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 327 
 
 played little more than occasional spots of vegeta- 
 tion, and the eye wandered over an expanse of coun- 
 try in a state of waste and neglect. The mistaken 
 policy of Petion ruined the progress of agriculture in 
 his part, and all his after efforts to restore its wonted 
 vigour were ineffectual and unavailing. Fondly con- 
 fiding that his people would without compulsion de- 
 vote the whole of their time to the pursuits of indus- 
 try, he permitted them to indulge in those propen- 
 sities to which they were naturally prone. But 
 instead of keeping pace with their northern neigh- 
 bours in the progress of agricultural industry, they 
 evidently receded beyond the possibility of reco- 
 very, and not a chance was left that agriculture 
 would revive under the weak and ineffectual mea- 
 sures of Petion''s government. 
 
 Christophe most advantageously farmed out the 
 government estates, and at the same time he gave 
 to the farmers of them every possible support ; but 
 he most strictly bound them to push the culture of 
 their lands as far as it was practicable from the 
 paucity of labourers ; and he also ordained the por- 
 tion of labour which might be exacted from each 
 of them. Every individual in the least acquainted 
 with the portion of labour allotted for the slave in 
 the British colonies will readily admit, that the la- 
 hour performed by them, far from being excessive, 
 does not exceed the ordinary labour of man in ge- 
 neral throughout the agricultural countries in Eu-? 
 
328 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 rope or the United States of America. From 
 every account which I have been able to collect, 
 and from the testimony of living persons, Cliris- 
 tophe exacted from every labourer the full perform- 
 ance of a day's labour as provided for by the twenty- 
 second article of the law for regulating the culture 
 of soil, and which forms a part of the Code Henry, 
 and every proprietor who did not enforce it incurred 
 his severest censure. The only thing which im- 
 peded the great advancement of cultivation in his 
 dominions was his contest with Petion, and the ne- 
 cessity which that occasioned for his keeping up a 
 powerful military establishment, which took away the 
 most able of the cultivators for the army. 
 
 After the union of the three divisions of the island 
 under the republic, some hopes were entertained 
 that Boyer would concert measures for reviving agri- 
 culture, although from his election to the presidential 
 chair after the death of Petion, he had given no 
 proofs, nor evinced the least desire to disturb the 
 cultivators, but allowed them to follow such courses 
 as seemed most congenial to their habits, and con- 
 sequently, instead of any improvement in the condi- 
 tion of the country, there was evidently a greater de- 
 cline; and as the population had been greatly in- 
 creased, the whole country tranquil, and without the 
 appearance of any interruption being given to it, a 
 period more favourable could not have arrived for 
 effecting a change of a system, which he must have 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 329 
 
 seen was attended with the most baneful conse- 
 quences. 
 
 I shall now advert to the quantity of produce ob- 
 tained from the soil after the union, and it seems, 
 from the returns which were laid before the public 
 in 1823, and subsequently from a note which I had 
 presented to me in Hayti, that the year 1822, the 
 first year after the union, was the most productive, 
 and that since that period there has been an evident 
 decHne. In 1822, the exports stood thus: — 
 
 Coffee 35,1 1 7,854 pounds. 
 
 Sugar 652,541 ditto. 
 
 Cotton 891,950 ditto. 
 
 Cocoa 322,145 ditto. 
 
 Logwood 3,816,585 ditto. 
 
 Mahogany 20,100 feet. 
 
 The whole value of which, in Hayti, seems to have 
 been estimated at about nine millions, thirty thou- 
 sand, three hundred and ninety-seven dollars, and 
 the export duties one million, three hundred and 
 sixty-five thousand, four hundred and two dollars ; 
 together, ten millions, three hundred and ninety -five 
 thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine dollars, or 
 about two millions, seventy-nine thousand, one hun- 
 dred and fifty-nine pounds sterling, taking the value 
 of the dollar as in Hayti at four shillings sterling. 
 No subsequent year has been equal in produce to 
 1822, and in 1825 the returns arc infinitely less, for 
 the quantity of coffee does not exceed thirty million 
 
330 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 pounds, sugar seven hundred and fifty thousand 
 pounds, and the other articles somewhat less in pro- 
 portion. The valuation of the whole in 1825 is 
 stated at eight millions of dollars, or thereabouts. 
 Such is the wretched state to which the improvident 
 measures of Boyer has brought agriculture in Hayti, 
 and in this condition would the republic have re- 
 mained, had he not attended to the suggestions of 
 men wiser than himself, who have some knowledge 
 of governing, and who are not such bigots as to be 
 led by a mistaken philanthropy, when they perceive 
 their country sinking under its injurious effects. 
 
 An individual now high in the councils of Boyer 
 made the strongest remonstrances against the un- 
 wise policy which he followed ; and the late Baron 
 Dupuy, a man who knew how the best interests 
 of his country might be upheld, declared to him 
 that by pursuing such a line in future he would 
 bring the republic to the brink of ruin. That it was 
 folly to think of any expedients for raising their na- 
 tional wealth and consequence, except by encourag- 
 ing and enforcing the cultivation of the soil, and 
 extending their commercial intercourse by every 
 possible means, for that agriculture and commerce 
 were the only sources of national wealth. 
 
 When we look into the state of the products in 
 the time of Toussaint, and compare them with those 
 of Boyer, it is a just conclusion to draw, that the one 
 knew his people, and the other feared them ; that 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 331 
 
 the former by compulsory means enriched his coun- 
 try, and kept the people quiet, whilst the latter, by 
 giving unlimited latitude to indolence, has impo- 
 verished and ruined them. This is the more extra- 
 ordinary, also, when we look at the means of each 
 chief for cultivating the soil, and the strength of 
 the population at the respective periods. Toussainfs 
 population, according to Humboldt, only amounted 
 to three hundred and seventy-five thousand, and by 
 the census taken in 1824, when the island was in- 
 corporated under Boyer's government, it amounted 
 to nine hundred and thirty-five thousand, three hun- 
 dred and thirty-five, so that in 1822 it could not 
 have been many short of that number. And sup- 
 posing therefore the census of Boyer to be correct, 
 was such an astonishing decrease ever known in the 
 means of any country in the world, and arising too 
 from the incapacity of its ruler and the weakness 
 of its government ? 
 
 When poverty began to be felt, and the exi- 
 gences of the state became alarmingly pressing, 
 Boyer became convinced that his policy had been 
 defective and ruinous, and that it was time to con- 
 cert plans for rousing himself from the lethargy 
 into which he had fallen. He was forced to seek 
 advice from the very people whose counsels he had 
 before rejected with disdain. He courted them, and 
 even begged, that they would suggest the most 
 beneficial plans for relieving the coimtry from that 
 
332 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 dilemma into which his precipitancy and obstinacy 
 had thrown it. They again stepped forward, and 
 their first suggestion was a rigid system of agricul- 
 ture, the revival of Toussaint^s principle of culture, 
 and the strict enforcement of it without any evasion 
 or escape. It was by coercion that Toussaint, Des- 
 salines, and even Christophe, raised their country, 
 and by coercion only could Hayti recover its pris- 
 tine condition. Her prosperity had received a stab, 
 and it required skill and experience to restore her 
 wonted vigour. 
 
 It is evident that the sugar plantations were nearly 
 all thrown up, as the country scarcely produced more 
 than was necessary for its own consumption. There 
 were a few only that had the appearance of being 
 cultivated, and those were in the possession of in- 
 dividuals connected with the government either in 
 a civil or military capacity. On these plantations 
 the work was generally performed by labouring par- 
 ties from the military stations in their vicinity; and 
 if labourers from the general class of cultivators were 
 engaged, they never omitted to exact from them a 
 due proportion of work, and they were always super- 
 intended by the gens d'armes, or country police, 
 armed for the sole purpose of compelling them to 
 the performance of their duty. 
 
 A variety of expedients were tried, it is true, by 
 the leading proprietors in the country, but more par- 
 ticularly by the military ones, for the purpose of 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAIKT DOMINGO. 333 
 
 advancing cultivation by the most effectual means. 
 The cane, requiring a greater proportion of labour 
 than any other of the staple articles of growth, was 
 little attended to ; it seemed therefore adviseable to 
 hold out inducements to prevail upon the people 
 to undertake its culture. In many instances, I have 
 been informed, the proprietors have not only offered 
 them a fourth of the produce, but they have ac- 
 tually promised a pecuniary remuneration in addi- 
 tion to it. Even this would not induce them to 
 work, and nothing therefore remained but to adopt 
 a system of compulsory labour. That compulsion 
 was resorted to, is a fact ; but the law was not suffi- 
 ciently strong to punish offenders m the case of 
 disobedience, and many delinquents, many of the 
 refractory labourers, who had engaged to perform a 
 certain portion of duty on a plantation, but neg- 
 lected to do so, escaped that punishment which 
 they deserved. 
 
 The law for the better observance of the culture 
 of the soil, until the Code Rural, of which I shall 
 speak hereafter, made its appearance, was extremely 
 deficient, and merely compelled all cultivators to 
 remain on their respective settlements, and to attend 
 to the duties required on them, except on Saturday 
 and Sunday, and such holidays as were particularly 
 enumerated; but there was no penalty for disobe- 
 dience sufficient to deter a man from being guilty of 
 it. As far however as the proprietors dared to go 
 
334 PRESEKT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 in enforcing labour, many of them certainly pro- 
 ceeded, and in several instances I have seen the 
 labourers working under the terror of the bayonet 
 and sabre, and this too on the plantations of Boyer 
 himself. I have seen it also on those of Secretary- 
 General Inginac, Colonel Lerebour, General Jed- 
 dion, and General Mazuy, and several others. 
 
 It was evident to every man in Hayti, at all con- 
 versant with the negro character, that an attempt to 
 keep up cultivation without force was impossible, 
 and many of the proprietors, themselves negroes, 
 knew that by force only could they obtain labourers 
 amongst their people. They knew that indolence in 
 the negro was innate, and that it was absolutely im- 
 practicable to carry on the work in the soil unless 
 rigid laws were enacted to enforce it. The laws 
 which had been passed by Toussaint and Dessalines 
 had become so mutilated by relaxation and modifi- 
 cation, that they were little more than a dead letter; 
 and the government, recovering from its apathy, and 
 feeling the consequences of its loss of energy and 
 want of decision, very wisely remonstrated with the 
 president, and condemned further submission to the 
 will of a people desirous to go on unrestrained in 
 their indolent propensities. This remonstrance was 
 effectual, and Boyer acquiesced in the necessity of 
 establishing a system of extensive cultivation, and 
 of enacting a law to provide for its due observance 
 throughout his dominions. He saw the good effects 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 335 
 
 which had arisen from the application of force on 
 his own plantation at Tor, on which the cultivators 
 worked under the surveillance of a military guard; 
 and he therefore became now as willing an advocate 
 for a law to sanction coercive labour, as he had been 
 negligent in not providing for the culture of the soil 
 from the beginning of his power. 
 
 The Code Rural, the existence of which has been 
 the subject of much doubt, was passed by the Cham- 
 ber of Communes on the 21st of April, 1826, admit- 
 ted by the senate on the 1st of May, and received the 
 president's fiat on the 6th of the same month. All this 
 took place during my residence in Port au Prince. 
 This law is the work of Secretary-General Inginac, 
 aided by one or two of the members from the cham- 
 ber and the senate. During the discussion of this 
 law in the Chamber of Communes, it was remarked 
 by one of the most intelligent of its members, " that 
 it was a measure of expediency, for that the citizen 
 cultivators had become so indolent that agriculture 
 had in some districts been almost forgotten, and 
 that cultivation was completely suspended." This 
 declaration was echoed through the chamber, and 
 €very member concurred in the observation, and gave 
 it his unqualified assent. 
 
 On the 1st of May, the day appointed for the cele- 
 bration of the Fete Agricultiure, and when the culti- 
 vators were assembled in the public square bearing 
 specimens of their several productions of the soil, 
 
336 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. XI. 
 
 the president, together with a member from the 
 chamber and another from the senate, addressed 
 them, and said that the legislature would provide 
 for a more general cultivation, and that all per- 
 sons not engaged, or usually occupied as labourers, 
 would be peremptorily called upon for a more strict 
 attention to their duty, as the government contem- 
 plated a revival of agriculture, which had fallen into 
 so much neglect from the indolent habits of the 
 people. These addresses were not received with 
 acclamation, and many a cultivator heard them with 
 a degree of dissatisfaction which seemed to fore- 
 bode resistance. 
 
 The Chamber of Communes, in its farewell ad- 
 dress, tells the people that laws "just and severe"*' 
 were imperative for the revival of agriculture, and 
 that by the law which they had passed to enforce 
 cultivation they thought that they had materially 
 served their country, and in such an opinion I most 
 readily concur. They rendered to their country an 
 important service by passing the Code Rural ; for 
 it will tend towards obstructing the course of im- 
 morality pursued by the people in their idleness, and 
 will eventually reestablish upon a sound basis the 
 shattered finances of the state. The passage in that 
 address is so very forcible, and so extremely just, 
 that I shall call the attention of my readers to it, as 
 it has been given by a gentleman to whom I am 
 under many obligations for his assistance upon va- 
 
CHAP. XT.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 337 
 
 rious subjects coiinectecl with this work. It says, 
 " What is due to the conservative principle would 
 not have been provided, if the revival of our agri- 
 culture had not been stimulated (provoque) by 
 laws at once just and severe ; your representatives 
 in passing the Code Rural, have believed that a 
 benefit was conferred upon the people." This was 
 conclusive of the opinion of the country that severity 
 was imperative for enforcing a general cultivation, 
 and that, without laws "just and severe", force 
 cannot be resorted to with any chance of a favour- 
 able result. 
 
 It may not be unimportant to give a few of the 
 articles of the Code Rural. This Code has now 
 found its way to Europe, and the public, on read- 
 ing its enactments, will be enabled to judge of the 
 feelings of the leading persons in Hayti with regard 
 to the state of cultivation, when such laws are said 
 to be required to force the people to labour. 
 
 " Art. 173. The purposes of Rural Police are, 
 
 " First. The repressing idleness. 
 
 " Second. Enforcing order and assiduity in agri- 
 cultural labour. 
 
 " Third. The discipline of the labourers collec- 
 tively or in gangs. 
 
 " Fourth. The making and keeping in repair of 
 the roads, both public and private. 
 
 " Art. 174- All persons who are not proprietors 
 or renters of the land on which they are residing, or 
 
 z 
 
338 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 who shall not have made a contract to work with 
 some proprietor or renter, shall be reputed vaga- 
 bonds, and shall be arrested by the rural police of 
 the section in which they may be found, and carried 
 before the justice of the peace of the commune. 
 
 " Art. 175. The justice of the peace, after inter- 
 rogating and hearing the person brought before him, 
 shall make known to him the articles of the law which 
 oblige him to employ himself in agricultural labour; 
 and after that communication he shall remand him 
 to prison, until he shall have bound himself by a 
 contract according to the provisions of the law. 
 
 " Art. 176. The jvistice of the peace will allow the 
 person arrested to make his own choice of the indi- 
 vidual with whom he is to contract to labour. 
 
 " Art. 177- If? ^^^^^ eight days of detention, the 
 prisoner shall not have agreed to go to field work, 
 he shall be sent to the public works for cleaning the 
 town or district where he may be arrested, and there 
 he shall be employed until he shall consent to go to 
 field labour. The person who removes any labourer 
 from the public works to employ him in private 
 work shall be subject to a fine of fifty dollars, of 
 which a moiety is to be paid to the person com- 
 plaining. 
 
 " Art. I7B. If the prisoner be a child under age, 
 the justice of the peace shall inquire out his parents, 
 and send him to them to follow their condition of 
 life. 
 
CHAP. XT.] OH SATNT DOMINGO. 339 
 
 "Art. 179. After the expiration of three montlis 
 from the publication of this Code, rigorous measures 
 shall be enforced against delinquents. 
 
 " Art. 180. Every person attached to the country 
 as a cultivator, who shall on a working day, and 
 during the hours of labour, be found unemployed, 
 or lounging on the public roads, shall be considered 
 idle, and be arrested and taken before the justice of 
 the peace, who shall commit him to prison for 
 twenty-four hours for the first offence, and shall 
 send him to labour on the public works upon a re- 
 petition of the offence. 
 
 " Art. 181. To provide against vagabondage, 
 under the pretence of being a soldier. 
 
 " Art. 182. Officers commanding the rural police 
 shall take care that in their respective sections no 
 person shall live in idleness. For this purpose they 
 have authority to oblige such persons as are not ac- 
 tually employed in labour, to give an account of 
 their occupations ; and such persons as cannot prove 
 that they cultivate the soil, or are keepers of cattle- 
 pens, shall be considered as without visible means 
 of procuring their livelihood, and shall be arrested 
 as vagabonds. 
 
 " Art. 183. Field labour shall commence on 
 Monday morning, and shall never cease until Fri- 
 day evening (legal holidays excepted) ; and in ex- 
 traordinary cases, when the interest of the cultiva- 
 
 z2 
 
340 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 tor as well as of the proprietor appears to require 
 it, work shall be continued until Saturday evening. 
 
 " Art. 184. On working days, the ordinary field 
 labour shall commence at day-dawn, to continue 
 until mid-day, with the interval of half an hour for 
 breakfast, which shall be taken on the spot where 
 the work is carrying on. After mid-day the field 
 labour shall commence at two o'clock, and continue 
 until sun-set. 
 
 '' Art. 185. Pregnant females shall be employed 
 on light work only, and after the fourth month of 
 pregnancy they shall not be obliged to do any work 
 in the field. 
 
 " Art. 186. Four months after delivery they shall 
 be obliged to resume the labour in the field ; but 
 they shall not turn out to work until one hour after 
 sun-rise ; they shall continue to work until eleven 
 o''clock, and from two o'clock until one hour before 
 sun-set. 
 
 " Art. 187- No labourer attached to an estate in 
 the country shall absent himself from the labour 
 assigned him, without the permission of the over- 
 seer, in the absence of the proprietor or farmer; 
 and no one shall give that permission unless the case 
 be urgent. 
 
 " Art. 188. Gangs oflabourers upon estates shall 
 be obedient to their drivers, jobbers, sub-farmers, 
 farmers, proprietors and managers, or overseers, 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 341 
 
 whenever they are called upon to execute the labour 
 they have bound themselves to perform. 
 
 "Art. 189. Every act of disobedience or insult 
 on the part of a workman commanded to do any work, 
 to which he is subjected, shall be punished by im- 
 prisonment, according to the exigency of the case, 
 in the discretion of the justice of the peace of the 
 commune. 
 
 " Art. 190. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 
 being at the entire disposal of the labourers, they 
 shall not be permitted on working days to leave their 
 work, to indulge in dancing or feasting, neither by 
 night nor by day. Delinquents shall be subject to 
 imprisonment for three days for the first offence, for 
 six days for the repetition of the offence." 
 
 The remaining articles of the code relate to the 
 making of roads and keeping them in repair. 
 
 " These clauses are given as more particularly 
 exhibiting the effect of the code on the field labourer. 
 To exhibit the whole system by which the driver is 
 made answerable for the labourer, the overseer for 
 his drivers and labourers, and the police, in its va- 
 rious grades, for the whole, it would be necessary to 
 translate the entire code. During imprisonment, 
 the labourer being absent from field work forfeits 
 his wages; the pregnant women also appear to re- 
 ceive no wages during their exemption.''^* 
 
 * Extract from " The Courier. 
 
 » 
 
34^2 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 It is impossible for any one who is at all convers- 
 ant with the negro character not to say, that the 
 Code Rural is just such a law as the exigences of 
 Hayti particularly require : and that it is absolutely 
 and imperatively called for in order to extend culti- 
 vation, and to bring the people to some sense of duty 
 towards their country and themselves. Left any 
 longer to pursue their uncontrolled and unlimited 
 propensity for indolence, they must recede into bar- 
 barism and uncivilization, and the country fall a 
 sacrifice to the mistaken policy of its chief and the 
 leaders of his government, and to those false ideas 
 of philanthropy with which they are so often as- 
 sailed by persons who are incompetent to advise, 
 because they are without any knowledge of the 
 country or its people. 
 
 The Code Rural, therefore, now enforces labour 
 with a rigid hand, — nothing more excessive can be 
 demanded of the slave in the British colonies ; and 
 I aver, that if the whole of the clauses of this code 
 be complied with, it will exceed the labour perform- 
 ed by persons in actual slavery. I have my doubts, 
 however, respecting the feasibility of carrying its 
 clauses into sviccessful operation, and whether the 
 temper of the people at the present moment will be 
 submissive enough to adhere to it in all its parts, 
 I am inclined to think that they have been too long 
 indulixcd in those vices which seem inherent in the 
 negro, to be brought to obedience; and that too 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 343 
 
 rigid an enforcement will bring on discontent, and 
 finally a general resistance. I think it therefore ex- 
 ceedingly probable that Boyer with all his vaunting, 
 with all his proclamations, and aided by his mili- 
 tary force, will never proceed to those extremities 
 to promote agriculture, to which he can now go un- 
 der the sanction of laws made expressly for that 
 purpose. The Code Rural must unquestionably 
 astonish those advocates for free labour who have 
 held up Hayti as an example of what can be accom- 
 plished by it ; and I think they cannot now have the 
 temerity to say that cultivation in the tropics can be 
 effectually carried on without coercion, when even 
 the Haytian government is constrained to have 
 recourse to it. For my part, I have seen nothing in 
 Hayti to induce me to alter the opinion which I 
 have always entertained of the negro, nor for a 
 moment to expect that cultivation can be carried 
 on with any probability of success without coer- 
 cion. But I declare it to be my firm conviction, 
 that unless coercion be resorted to, the negro will 
 not labour. The impulse for indulging in sloth and 
 in indolence is too irresistible, and it will not be in 
 the power of the government to make any progress 
 in agricultural labour, except it be done by actual 
 force. 
 
 The system pursued by the Haytian government 
 respecting the disposal of its lands seems to be er- 
 roneous. Allotting it out in small grants of ten 
 
344 PRESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [cHAT. XI. 
 
 to fifteen acres, is an injudicious measure: it only 
 tends towards extending and perpetuating the evil 
 and pernicious habits of the people. When a negro 
 obtains a grant of a small tract of land, he cares 
 little about the cultivation of it beyond the produc- 
 tion of enough for bis own immediate wants, and 
 those wants are trifling. Two or three hours' la- 
 bour in each week will suffice to answer all the 
 purposes of the culture required to produce food 
 enough for himself; the rest of his time is then al- 
 lowed to dwindle away in the most puerile plea- 
 sures and inconsistencies. No object which mode- 
 rate industry could procure would balance the in- 
 satiable desire for reposing under the shade of the 
 guava, and for ablutions in the neighbouring 
 stream; with these and a little food all his wants 
 are supplied. Such being the case, and known to 
 be so by the government, it is enough to surprise 
 one that they should parcel out their lands in this 
 way, because, even under the Code Rural, the 
 person holding it is no longer a labourer, but a pro- 
 prietor, and is not therefore amenable to it. Had 
 the government proceeded differently, and let the 
 estates to farm as they were originally laid out, so 
 many petty proprietors would not have existed, but 
 would have remained amenable to the law for en- 
 forcing cultivation. From this unwise system, la- 
 bourers are scarce in Ilayti, and the few that are to 
 be obtained are of the worst characters, negroes so 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 345 
 
 abandoned as not to have been considered worthy 
 of inheriting a patch of land. Hay ti abounds with 
 these small proprietors ; their patches of land, with 
 their huts upon them, are generally situate in the 
 mountains, in the recesses, or on the most elevated 
 parts, on spots, as the poet has described, '' the most 
 inaccessible by shepherds trod."*' They are therefore 
 lost for the purposes of agriculture : their cultivation 
 does not extend beyond vegetables for the markets 
 in their vicinity, added to which they furnish an oc- 
 casional supply of pork, poultry, and wild pigeons. 
 
 Another important question arises on this sub- 
 ject, and that is the quantum of labour which a 
 negro is capable of performing within the day. In 
 the British colonies an experienced planter can at 
 once discern how much labour a slave is capable of 
 performing. He can also discriminate between slaves 
 who are willing and industrious, and those who are 
 careless and indolent ; and apportions their labour 
 according to their respective deserts and capacities. 
 The Haytian proprietor is deficient in these re- 
 quisites ; he is not a planter practically, and he 
 is ignorant of its theory. There is nothing regu- 
 lar in his system ; it is an anomaly, a strange, in- 
 congruous method of proceeding, having no ten- 
 dency either to improve the soil or benefit himself 
 The sugar planter in the first place is so ignorant, 
 that he knows not the virtue which his soil possesses, 
 nor what it is capable of producing. He consi- 
 
346 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. XI. 
 
 ders not whether one field is better adapted for the 
 production of canes than another, but plants indis- 
 criminately in bad or good soil, in heavy or light ; 
 in fact he knows not whether it ought to be planted 
 with canes or cotton, or if it would be wise to allow 
 it to become common pastures. He is contented, and 
 seems to be quite satisfied, if he can but obtain vege- 
 tation in any way ; careless about the manner in 
 which it is accomplished. To ascertain whether it 
 can be improved by art or industry, is a matter 
 about which he is unconcerned. 
 
 But the cane is not often planted. Most of the 
 cane pieces on plantations are old, probably they 
 were planted by the French, or subsequently in the 
 time of Toussaint. They exhibit an appearance of 
 age, for their circumference is small, and their joints 
 are not more than three inches apart, nor do they 
 ever exceed four feet in length. These are very 
 seldom manured or trashed, nor do they receive any 
 attention from the time of cutting until they are 
 again ready for the mill the following year. There 
 is no such thing as stirring the soil between the rows 
 at particular times, nor do the cultivators ever trou- 
 ble themselves about divesting the cane of its super- 
 fluous and decaying leaves, so as to open a free course 
 for the air through the whole. Nothing of this is done 
 in Hayti. The fertility of the soil, the congeniality 
 of climate, and the regularity of seasons, suffice for 
 manure, and the rest is left to nature. Art and the 
 
CHAP. XI.] OH SAINT DOMINGO. 347 
 
 industry of man contribute little or nothing to the 
 growth of the cane. The hoe and other implements 
 of tillage are rendered useless by indolence, the 
 planter's unconquerable love of ease having brought 
 them into disrepute ; and I shall be somewhat 
 astonished if the Code Rural will have power enough 
 to revive their use. 
 
 The same irregularity attends the operations 
 at the mill, the boiling-house, the distillery, and 
 the other departments of the plantation. I have 
 been through them often, and have been surprised 
 at the want of order which every where pre- 
 vails. There is nothing systematically arranged, — 
 every thing seems in confusion; the works are 
 detached, and resemble more a heap of ruins 
 than conveniences for manufacturing and distilling. 
 The interior of the boiling-house would astonish a 
 Jamaica planter : the several boilers are not ranged 
 in succession from the receiver to the teache, as 
 they are in the British colonies. They are placed 
 without rule, and in their manner of conveying the 
 liquor from one copper to another the waste is con- 
 siderable; and this is observable too in all their 
 operations. There is nothing like cleanliness in 
 their works; filth and every species of dirtiness arc 
 to be seen in them ; and this is prevalent, although 
 they must be sensible that it is injurious, and often 
 destructive to the quality of the sugar. The dis- 
 tillery department is also very injudiciouyly con- 
 
348 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 structed. They take no pains to keep the heat at 
 the proper degree requisite for fermentation : every- 
 thing has the appearance of negligence, and con- 
 veys to the observer a very bad specimen of Hay- 
 tian skill in the art of manufacturing sugar or of 
 distilling spirits. They do not often make rum: 
 I only know of one or two plantations on which 
 rum is distilled, and these are conducted by En- 
 glishmen ; one in particular at Aux Cases, a Mr. 
 Towning, who has an extensive distillery. He pro- 
 duces rum, which, in point of flavour, strength, and 
 every other quality, I do not think inferior to that 
 of Jamaica. To all persons who visit Aux Cases 
 this gentleman is well known for the hearty and hos- 
 pitable reception he always gives to a stranger. He 
 is the only person in Hayti who devotes his atten- 
 tion to the distillation of rum. The Haytians cannot 
 distil it ; they are ignorant of its principle, and con- 
 sequently confine themselves to the distillation of 
 what is known in the British colonies under the de- 
 nomination of low wines. The flavour of this spirit 
 is most unpleasant ; which arises, I conjecture, from 
 the ingredients thrown into the fermenting vessels, 
 and from which it is distilled : these, consisting of the 
 molasses from the boiling-house, with all the sweep- 
 ings of the works, with a proportion of water from 
 any pool however stagnant, if pure water be not 
 near, I apprehend give to the spirit a very acrid 
 quality, as well as a fetid smell. It is however 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 349 
 
 held in great estimation by the people, who drink 
 it freely, and they can obtain it cheap. Upon the 
 whole there can be no difficulty in declaring that 
 the Haytians are ignorant both of the cultivation of 
 the cane, and of the process of manufacturing 
 sugar. 
 
 It is evident that sugar is not much cultivated, 
 as in every district throughout the republic there are 
 only a few plantations to be seen in the plains of Cul 
 de Sac and vicinity of Port au Prince where sugar 
 is produced. There were in the time of the French 
 about one hundred and forty sugar estates, very few, 
 if any, with less than one thousand acres of land, one- 
 fourth of which would be in canes, and the remainder 
 in pastures and other crops. Now in the same space 
 there are not more than twenty estates, and in each 
 of them there cannot be found more than from forty 
 to fifty acres of canes, the remainder of the land 
 being in a neglected state, overrun with different 
 weeds. President Boyer has an estate within a 
 small distance of Port au Prince, called Tor, the 
 favourite residence of the late Petion. This plant- 
 ation has upwards of two thousand acres of land 
 attached to it, and, from the great strength of the 
 soil, it is impossible to select a spot more eligible 
 for the production of sugar. But there are not 
 more than forty acres of the land in canes. This, 
 however, is not singular ; it is general throughout 
 the island. When the sugar cane in Hayti was 
 
350 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 cultivcated properly, and received the requisite care 
 and attention in the several stages of its growth, 
 it produced very abundantly. Bryan Edwards gives 
 an average of two thousand seven hundred and 
 twelve pounds of sugar per acre through the island ; 
 and at this period I have been informed, and in fact 
 I have seen it calculated myself, that in the plains 
 of Cul de Sac and Leogane the average does not ex- 
 ceed one thousand pounds of sugar per acre ; and 
 an experienced planter on looking at the canes 
 when they are ripe for cutting, would conclude 
 that they would not produce so much. Formerly 
 a pound of sugar was obtained from a gallon of 
 juice in some districts, in others sixteen pounds 
 from twenty gallons, and in some sixteen pounds 
 from twenty-four gallons : but now it requires 
 nearly treble the quantity of juice to produce the 
 same quantity of sugar : and this must remain so, 
 until a new system of cultivation be tried, and the 
 management of the plantations be entrusted to 
 men of experience, men who have been practical 
 planters, and who are conversant with the whole of 
 its duties ; men, I say, who have a perfect knowledge 
 of the soil, its capabilities and its wants for the 
 work of tillage, and who will devote their time and 
 attention to all the minutia? of plantation labour. 
 If such a system should ever be pui'sued in Hayti, 
 and there be labourers to cultivate, and capital can 
 be invested securely, then sugar planting may be 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 351 
 
 carried on with some chance of a successful issue : 
 until this take place, I have great douhts whether 
 the culture of the cane will prove profitable to the 
 occupier of the soil. 
 
 The labour required for the cultivation of coifee 
 is exceedingly light: I was therefore much sur- 
 prised to see the very little progress the people 
 had made in this branch of agriculture. When 
 an individual, who has been accustomed to plant- 
 ations in the British, French, and Spanish is- 
 lands, visits the coffee plantations in Hayti, and 
 observes the whole conducted without judgment or 
 care, it impresses him with a most unfavourable 
 idea of the people; and when he sees the easiest 
 branch of agriculture so much neglected, it con- 
 vinces him that their idleness is almost invincible. 
 In the British islands every coffee plantation is 
 arranged with the greatest exactitude. The lands are 
 divided into fields as nearly equal as possible, and 
 in those fields, in all probability, the coffee has been 
 planted in successive seasons, so that when the 
 period arrives in which the trees begin to exhibit a 
 decline in their growth, the planter provides for the 
 loss of them by planting others, and by this expedi- 
 ent manages always to keep up his crop. The 
 fences which divide the fields are constantly kept up 
 vi^ith regularity and order, the whole having tlic 
 appearance of a garden laid out with neatness and 
 precision. The phintation works for washing, dry- 
 
352 PRESENT STATE OP HAYTT, [ciTAP. XI. 
 
 ing, and preparing the coffee, are in the best condi- 
 tion, and with the barbacues, exhibit a well-arranged 
 system for the production of the berry. In Hayti 
 the scene is different: what is denominated there 
 a coffee plantation, is neither more nor less than a 
 large tract of land, throughout which grows spon- 
 taneously the coffee tree ; not planted tliere by the 
 people, but sprung from the seed which has fallen 
 from those planted by the French, and which escaped 
 destruction during the revolution. There is no such 
 thing as a plantation established upon the same 
 principle as in other islands. There are no divisions, 
 no laying out of the lands, no order of planting in 
 succession, nothing done towards improving and 
 fertilizing the soil, in order to aid the growth of the 
 tree, no lopping it of its excrescences, and pruning 
 it to strengthen the parent stem ; but every thing is 
 left to nature, the pruning knife is sheathed, and 
 the rank luxuriance of the tree is permitted to in- 
 crease, whilst the hoe is seldom called into use, to 
 extirpate those weeds which are so destructive to 
 vegetation. 
 
 A person must be somewhat conversant with tra- 
 velling in Hayti before he can discover on his road 
 that a coffee plantation is near him. For my 
 part, I could see nothing that resembled one, nor 
 should I have known the coffee tree, growing as it 
 did in a pyramidal form, surrounded by numberless 
 other shrubs, had it not been for the appearance of 
 
CHAP. XI.] OH SAINT DOMINGO. 353 
 
 a few red berries on one of its lower branches. I 
 alighted from my mule to examine some trees just 
 round the spot : as nearly as I could ascertain, every 
 tree must have exceeded twelve feet in height, and 
 I am convinced that each of them at the time would 
 not have produced two pounds of coffee in the husk. 
 I had the curiosity to go a little way into the inte- 
 rior of this settlement to see if there were any thing 
 like cultivation, but I could discover nothing bear- 
 ing the least resemblance to a plantation. I saw 
 nothing but a hut, and four or five people in it, 
 whom I found to be the proprietors of the place. 
 They were inquisitive, and not much pleased that I 
 should have intruded on their privacy, and there- 
 fore I had a hint from my guide that it would be 
 prudent not to advance farther. I saw, however, 
 enough to convince me that there was no regular 
 system of cultivation pursued in this place, although 
 there were twelve hundred acres of land in the 
 Keen ; and that the coffee grew in a wild state, the 
 soil never being touched or disturbed, save, occa- 
 sionally, by pigs, goats and asses, which range 
 through the whole, and feed on the grass which 
 grows luxuriantly in the intervals. Mills are not very 
 common, and the few which exist are very small 
 and turned by asses. Washing and pulping are not 
 performed by machinery. Indeed I am inclined to 
 suspect that they are dispensed with altogether, as 
 I could not find any apparatus for these operations. 
 
 A A 
 
354 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 My guide knew this plantation well, and he told me, 
 that although the proprietor had this large tract of 
 land, yet he was so poor that he could not afford to 
 hire cultivators, who, when employed, never did work 
 enough to pay for their hire. I was anxious to as- 
 certain the annual quantity of coffee which this 
 place produced, and I was told that it did not exceed 
 four thousand five hundred pounds weight. I have 
 mentioned this plantation because it is considered 
 to be a settlement in a productive part of the coun- 
 try, the mountains of Leogane ; and extraordinary 
 as it may appear, it is a very good illustration of 
 the coffee settlements in general, all of which ex- 
 hibit negligence and want of that industry which 
 characterize the Haytian planter and cultivator. 
 
 Cotton, which formerly was an article much grown 
 in Hayti, is now greatly neglected, although the 
 labour attending it is very inconsiderable, the peo- 
 ple having no wish to extend cultivation to those 
 products of the soil which require planting annually. 
 It is both an annual and a perennial plant, 
 but the former is esteemed as most productive, whilst 
 the latter is somewhat out of repute from not afford- 
 ing such profitable returns. In some of the dis- 
 tricts, when in possession of the French, from the 
 extreme luxuriance of the soil, a planter could ob- 
 tain, from the labour of one man, six thousand pounds 
 of it annually ; but in these more modern tim-es, 
 and under the free labour system, not more than 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 355 
 
 six hundred pounds can be obtained, and even that 
 is only partial, and not a general thing. In the 
 vicinity of Gonaives it is more cultivated than in 
 any other district, the soil in the uplands being 
 more congenial for its growth than it is in any other 
 part of the island. In the time of the French it 
 produced about three millions and a half of pounds 
 weight, but in 1825 the crop only amounted to five 
 hundred and twenty thousand pounds. With lands 
 so exceedingly fertile, so peculiarly adapted for the 
 cultivation of this plant, it is not a very cheering 
 prospect to see that free labour is able to accomplish 
 so little in the production of an article of culture that 
 requires such trifling exertion. What might not be 
 accomplished by an industrious race of people in 
 the production of cotton, in a country so favourable 
 to its growth.? If it were possible to waft the industry 
 of the peasantry of Great Britain to the shores of 
 Hayti, what an extraordinary effect would it have 
 in the production of an article, the superior quality 
 of which would so amply repay the tillers for their 
 industry and care. But the Haytians care not for 
 these things ; they are totally imconcerned about the 
 growth of any article for foreign consumption ; they 
 seem to have no desire beyond that of cultivating the 
 few vegetables required for their own immediate use, 
 leaving all other things to the effects of nature, even 
 valuable articles of spontaneous growth being some- 
 
 A a2 
 
35G PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [(HAP. XI. 
 
 times permitted to rise and fall into decay without 
 becoming the object of the cultivator's attention. 
 
 The culture of cocoa is not now attended to, ex- 
 cept, I believe, in the vicinity of Jeremie. It is a 
 plant the nature of which is peculiarly delicate, and 
 requires shade as well as moisture, and it is ma- 
 terial to its growth, that it should be defended 
 against the powerful rays of the sun. The labour 
 of cultivating it is very trifling; the most important 
 duty which it requires is to guard it during its ap- 
 proach to perfection against the macaw and the 
 parrot, for wherever they touch the pod, destruction 
 ensues. It may be considered a perennial plant, for 
 the fruit is found upon it throughout the greater 
 part of the year, though there are two principal 
 crops, which are gathered in June and December. 
 After it is gathered great care must be taken of it, 
 for before it is prepared for market it receives a 
 sweat by the application of salt water, which de- 
 stroys any vermin that may have got into it, and, 
 it is said, preserves its hue. Any vegetable pro- 
 duction requiring so much care in the culture and 
 preparation of it will never become extensively cul- 
 tivated in Hayti, although it may be exceedingly 
 profitable. The Haytians cannot confine them- 
 selves to any settled system of planting; and co- 
 coa therefore requiring the greatest possible aid 
 through the whole progress of its growth, as well as 
 
CHAP. XI.] Oil SAINT DOMINGO. 357 
 
 much attention after it is picked, will never be an 
 article of very general culture, however valuable it 
 may be to the planter. 
 
 Although there are a great many fields in which 
 the indigo grows wild, and settlements in which it was 
 once extensively cultivated still exist, yet at this pe- 
 riod but very little is produced. Its cultivation re- 
 quires the greatest care, for it has to go through a very 
 long process, from the picking of the leaves on which 
 the blue is found until it is fit to be removed into 
 chests. This is too much for the fickle Haytian 
 planter to undergo. It is said to be a plant that can- 
 not be cultivated without shade and moisture, and 
 that it will not bear any other vegetable near it with- 
 out sustaining great injury. It is a plant also that 
 exhausts the soil very considerably indeed, and at the 
 end of two years it has not only become degenerated, 
 but the land which bore it becomes weak and unfit to 
 be again used for its production. After the loss of 
 Hayti to the French, they made experiments on its 
 growth in some parts of their dominions in Europe, 
 and they are I think stated to have been successful, 
 but the quantity which they raised was small. The 
 indigo from Guatemala is esteemed the finest, and 
 in that republic is an article of very extensive 
 cultivation, and a source of great wealth to the 
 people who cultivate it ; but the native Spaniards 
 and the Indians of that country are a very in- 
 dustrious race of people, and leave nothing untried 
 
358 ntESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cilAP. XI. 
 
 which may improve their country, or enrich them- 
 selves. 
 
 I am astonished that the cochineal insect was 
 never extensively sought after, and the raising of it 
 more generally attended to in Hayti, as the cactus, 
 or prickly pear, on which it feeds, grows throughout 
 the whole of the country, and forms a common fence 
 round gardens in many parts of the island. So pre- 
 cious an insect, and requiring no labour in the pre- 
 servation of it, must be a valuable acquisition to 
 those who would devote their time in looking after 
 it; but the attention which it absolutely requires 
 causes the Haytians to neglect it. It is said to have 
 been in the time of the Spaniards an indigenous in- 
 sect, and that in the districts of St. John's and 
 Ocoa they usually collected large quantities for the 
 European market. 
 
 The cultivation of tobacco has declined exceed- 
 ingly, although the districts of St. Jago and the 
 whole of the banks of the Yague, as well as the 
 plains of La Vega, produced an article very little in- 
 ferior in its quality to that of Cuba. The large quan- 
 tities of this commodity which found their way to Ja- 
 maica were a source of great wealth to the Spaniards 
 who cultivated it ; but that vent being closed, it has 
 now become much neglected; and as the Spanish cul- 
 tivators of it have mostly left the island, and have 
 gone to the Spanish Main or to Cuba, a little is 
 still produced by the Haytian planters; but, as with 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 359 
 
 respect to every other article derived from the soil, 
 they are quite careless about the culture of it, and 
 often leave it to decay, rather than undergo the toil 
 of preparing it for market. There are other terri- 
 torial productions which formerly were considered 
 important to raise, and which gave the planter very 
 handsome returns, such as ginger, pimento, rice, 
 vanilla, palma christi oil (ricinus Americanus), and 
 sarsaparilla, as well as many indigenous plants that 
 contain qualities which might make a valuable addi- 
 tion to the number of useful drugs now comprised in 
 the Materia Medica. All these may now be said to 
 be totally disregarded, with the exception of rice, 
 which is occasionally grown, for I could never ascer- 
 tain that any individual devoted the least of his 
 time to cultivating them, nor did I ever see any of 
 them exhibited as articles of commerce in any part 
 of the country. 
 
 Having now adverted to the productions of the 
 soil in Hayti, and the decline of agriculture through 
 the country, it may not be improper, by way of a 
 conclusion to this subject, to offer a few remarks on 
 what is termed free labour, and the consequences 
 which have arisen from it in Hayti. It seems to me 
 quite clear that this subject is by no means well un- 
 derstood in Europe, and that its advocates arc 
 much too sanguine and enthusiastic when they ex- 
 pect that it would be found practicable to keep 
 up the tillage of the colonies if their present bublc 
 
360 PllESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 cultivators were to be set free. It is indisputable 
 that the declaration of freedom to the slave popu- 
 lation in Hayti was the ruin of the country, and 
 that it has not been attended with those benefits 
 which the sanguine philanthropists of Europe anti- 
 cipated. The inhabitants have neither advanced in 
 moral improvement, nor are their civil rights more 
 respected; their condition is not changed for the 
 better. They are not slaves, it is true, but they are 
 suffering under greater deprivations than can well 
 be imagined, whilst slaves have nothing to appre- 
 hend, for they are clothed, fed, and receive every 
 medical aid in the time of sickness. The free la- 
 bourer in Hayti, from innate indolence and from 
 his state of ignorance, obtains barely enough for 
 his subsistence. He cares not for clothing, and as to 
 aid under sickness he cannot obtain it ; thus he is left 
 to pursue a course that sinks him to a level with 
 the brute creation, and the reasoning faculties of 
 the one are almost inferior to the instinct of the 
 other, and will be so until moral instruction effect 
 a change. Had the Haytians been prepared for free- 
 dom by moral and religious education, emancipation 
 might have done them some good ; but even then, 
 they would not have made much progress unless 
 agriculture had been legally imposed as a duty, and 
 the government enforced all the laws enacted for 
 punishing negligence and disobedience. I have never 
 yet been able to discover in Hayti, that the blacks 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 3G1 
 
 since their emancipation have improved in the extra- 
 ordinary degree which they are sometimes represent- 
 ed to have done. It is probable that those blacks who 
 live in the towns may have improved a little. Their 
 intercourse with the strangers who visit the country 
 and their avocations afford them opportunities of 
 improving, which are denied to their brethren in the 
 interior parts. But to calculate the increase of im- 
 provement from the progress of those in the towns, is 
 wrong. The whole mass of the people must be taken, 
 and then, if the measure of moral improvement be 
 ascertained, it will not be found to exceed one in fif- 
 teen. The state of ignorance prevailing among the 
 people in the mountains and the interior parts is 
 almost inconceivable. It appears as if the work of 
 civilization had not commenced, and that the peo- 
 ple had not taken one voluntary step towards im- 
 proving themselves in any one thing. Neither is 
 there one step taken by the government to force 
 some degree of attention to those duties that may 
 eventually improve them, unless, since the conviction 
 of their own impolitic system of governing, the Code 
 Rural should effect that change which ought to 
 have been accomplished before. 
 
 If any one suppose for a moment that the present 
 race of free labourers in Hayti resemble the free la- 
 bourers of any other part of the world, he will be most 
 egregiously deceived. There cannot be a greater dis- 
 tinction between two classes of people than there ibbe- 
 
362 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 tween the free labourers in Hayti and those of Cuba 
 and the southern states of North America. The first 
 are in a state of profound ignorance, inheriting all 
 those vices of idolatry and heathenism so peculiar to 
 the African race ; whilst the second, before they re- 
 ceived the boon of freedom, had been taught how to 
 value it, had received the blessings of a moral and 
 religious education, and, although they were not 
 admitted into the general community of free per- 
 sons, but formed a class of their own, yet they were 
 respected and became valuable as labourers. In 
 the United States the incitements to labour are great, 
 the most important being that of want; and until the 
 Haytians are impelled by a stimulus equally power- 
 ful, they will not work ; and that such a stimulus 
 will be found is not probable, while we know that 
 the labour of a few days will furnish a negro with 
 sustenance for a month. Experiments may be tried, 
 laws may be enacted, and encouragement given, but 
 nothing short of coercion and want will impel the 
 Haytian to labour ; and I have my doubts as to the 
 practicability of enforcing labour in Hayti until the 
 people have been better instructed, and their cha- 
 racters become changed. As to want, the fertility 
 of the soil is so great that it offers every security 
 against its occurrence, by the most simple exertions. 
 It it evident to me, that unless constant labour be 
 required for the support of the negro, he never can 
 become like the free labourers in other countries ; 
 
CHAP. XI.] Oil SAINT DOMINGO. 363 
 
 and to imagine that he will work for hire without 
 coercion, is absolutely to imagine that to be practi- 
 cable which is physically impossible. I am well 
 aware that it has been often asserted that the Hay- 
 tians are always found willing to contract, or engage 
 to perform any proportion of the work required on 
 a plantation, on being fairly and equitably remune- 
 rated for their labour ; but I am bold to pronounce 
 such an assertion, come from what quarter it may, 
 to be unfounded. It was, I aver, out of the power 
 of a proprietor to obtain labourers, although the 
 most liberal offers were made to them to under- 
 take a proportion of such work as he wished to be 
 performed. 
 
 It is perhaps unfortunate that the local autho- 
 rities in Hayti are individuals without decision, and 
 too apt to submit to the will of the people ; mere 
 nonentities, without resolution sufficient to com- 
 mand obedience in their several districts, although 
 invested with power to commit, or inflict summary 
 punishment. Hence there is much reason to pre- 
 sume that the enactments of the Code llural will 
 become inefficacious for a more general and exten- 
 sive cultivation of the soil, and that agricultural 
 pursuits will not be the least encouraged or promoted 
 by its clauses, because the task of enforcing them 
 devolves on the very imbecile class of persons who 
 constitute the executive part of the government. 
 
 Before I conclude this part of my observations, 
 
364! r RESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [ciIAP. XI. 
 
 I cannot avoid repeating, that Hayti must not 
 be held up as an example of what can be accom- 
 plished by free labour ; but that it ought rather to 
 be the beacon to warn the government of England 
 against an experiment which may prove absolutely 
 fatal to her colonial system. If it be not wished that 
 a fate similar to that which has befallen Hayti 
 should overtake our own colonies, that they should 
 be rendered totally unproductive to the revenue of 
 the country, and that the property invested in them 
 should be preserved from destruction, the advisers 
 of the crown must pause before they listen to the 
 ill-judged suggestions of enthusiasts ; for they must 
 banish from their minds the idea that the work of 
 cultivation can be made productive by means of free 
 labour. Such a thing appears to me impossible. The 
 negro, constituted as he is, has such an aversion from 
 labour, and so great a propensity for indulgence and 
 vice, that no prospect of advantage can stimulate 
 him, and as for emulation it has not the slightest 
 influence over him. Without force he will sink into 
 lethargy, and revert to his primitive savage cha- 
 racter, and the only feasible and effectual plan to 
 promote his civilization is to persist in those mea- 
 sures which compel him to labour, inculcate morality, 
 and tend to extirpate those vices which are in- 
 herent in the descendants of the African race. This 
 has been often exemplified in cases of Africans 
 who have been taken from their native soil and 
 
CHAP. XT.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 365 
 
 educated in England. When they have returned to 
 the spot of their nativity, and have beheld their 
 kindred indulging in all the habits of savage life, 
 they have thrown off all traces of civilization, and 
 embraced with all their primeval ardour the vices 
 of their native country. As Africa has presented 
 various instances of this, so has it occurred also 
 among the Indian tribes, not only of North but 
 of South America. 
 
 I trust that my readers will not for a moment 
 consider that I am advocating the cause of slavery ; 
 that I have the most distant wish that freedom 
 should not be conceded to the slave population of 
 the world ; but that, if it were possible, the whole 
 of the British colonies should be cultivated by free 
 labourers. Nothing can be more opposite to my 
 feelings than such a supposition, for I should be 
 one of the first to exult were the measure prac- 
 ticable, and were the condition of the slave to be 
 changed for the better by it. But I have Hayti 
 before me as an example, as a forcible illustration 
 of the evils likely to attend such an experiment ; 
 for I am convinced that to attempt it, would in- 
 evitably ruin all interests, be a signal for general 
 insurrection, and the colonies would then be lost 
 for ever as a productive possession of the crown, 
 without improving the condition of the slave. I 
 venture to make this declaration from a know- 
 ledge of the character of the slave. From hav- 
 
366 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XI. 
 
 ing, during an intercourse of twenty-two years with 
 those countries in which slavery exists, minutely 
 examined him in all his essential qualities, I have 
 been only able to arrive at the conclusion, that it 
 will be found an undertaking of extreme difficulty 
 to change his nature so as to make freedom a good 
 to him ; and even assuming that such an attempt 
 should be considered practicable, it is evident that 
 it must be the work of time, and not the result of 
 any sudden and precipitate act. But I would, with 
 great deference, call upon my countrymen to deli- 
 berate before they venture upon further experi- 
 ments, unless they wish to subvert their colonial 
 establishments; and not to be hurried into the adop- 
 tion of any measure without the most serious con- 
 sideration of the consequences which are likely to 
 ensue from it. I would call upon them to examine 
 into the state and condition of the Haytian people, 
 before they adopt any plan, or devise any means, 
 for attempting to cultivate their colonies by free 
 labour. The state of the population of this island 
 is calculated to excite the most painful sensations, 
 and their abject sloth, indolence, and ignorance, 
 would, I should think, induce the warmest philan- 
 thropists of England to form the wish that their 
 condition were rendered equal to that of the slave 
 population of the British colonies. Their condi- 
 tion has not been improved by the change from 
 slaves to free labourers. In point of fact, the slave 
 
CHAP. XI.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 367 
 
 is infinitely better off than the free labourer of 
 Hayti ; in physical circumstances he is particularly 
 so ; and even as regards morality, the former has 
 the advantage. I say again that Hayti, instead 
 of being an example of what may be done by free 
 labour in the tropics, or a proof that agriculture can 
 be successfully carried on by it, stands as a beacon 
 to caution us against the rock on which the prospe- 
 rity of the colonies is likely to be wrecked. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Commerce. — State of exports and imports. — Exactions 
 at the customs — depredations and impositions. — Foreign 
 merchants — disabilities they labour under. — Insecurity. 
 — State of finances. — Revenue, etc. 
 
 Commerce, like agriculture, in Hayti is at a very 
 low ebb, and presents a very discouraging view of the 
 state of that country. Without agriculture commerce 
 can receive but little encouragement; and if the cul- 
 tivation of the soil decline, commerce must decline 
 also, the one being unquestionably dependent on the 
 other. If there be a failure in those territorial pro- 
 ductions which constitute the staple commodities of 
 Hayti, there will be nothing to excite commercial 
 enterprise and speculation, and consequently the in- 
 tercourse with foreigners will decrease, to the great 
 injury of the country. Were Hayti in a situation 
 to become an entrepot for foreign property, or were 
 it so circumstanced as to have the means of carry- 
 ing on an extensive trade with the South American 
 states, it might probably relieve her in some mea- 
 sure from the heavy weight with which she is now 
 borne down. But she has no such intercourse, nor 
 are the people in the least conversant with the 
 
CHAP. XIT.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 3()9 
 
 nature of it : their knowledge of commerce not ex- 
 tending much beyond the limits of mere petty barter- 
 ing, and all important commercial dealings are cen- 
 tred in the foreign houses established there. The 
 British, Americans, and even the French, will not 
 confide in the integrity of the Haytians; all their en- 
 gagements are effected, all their arrangements are 
 made by the agents from their respective countries, 
 who have patents to reside in the several parts of the 
 republic. An attempt was made to induce the legisla- 
 tive body to enact a law for compelling foreigners to 
 consign their cargoes or shipments to Haytian citi- 
 zen agents ; and I believe Boyer was much disposed 
 to countenance the proposition, but it met with 
 great disapprobation from those individuals in the 
 chamber of communes who were on friendly terms 
 with the foreigners, and who had discretion enough 
 to foresee that such a law would be destructive of 
 that commerce which they were so anxious to extend. 
 This iniquitous law was proposed by M. Elic and 
 M. Ardouin, the representatives for Port au Prince, 
 and it was supported by other members of the 
 chamber, who, as native agents, resided in the 
 several ports, but decried by those who apprehended 
 the serious check which foreign intercourse would 
 receive from so unwise and impolitic a measure. 
 It was, however, negatived, and the proposers and 
 supporters of it drew upon themselves much obloquy 
 and reproach. 
 
 B B 
 
370 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XII. 
 
 The Haytian government has often promulgated 
 very glowing abstracts of the flourishing state of 
 its commerce, and would seem to expect that such 
 accounts should be received as proofs of the rising 
 greatness of the country. But the very documents 
 themselves are prima facie evidence of their being a 
 fabrication. They are gross impositions to lead stran- 
 gers into the belief that the intercourse is of im- 
 portance, and that considerable advantages accrue 
 from it to those nations who engage in it with 
 spirit, and pursue it without relaxation. 
 
 As there is no individual wealth in the country, 
 the means of the people depend upon their own ex- 
 ertions in the culture of the soil; and therefore 
 as cultivation has dwindled from the want of indus- 
 try, those means must have become exceedingly cir- 
 cumscribed. Hence it is not probable that the an- 
 nual value of the imports into the country can have 
 so far exceeded the exports from it, as the following 
 statements, which have been already before the pub- 
 lic, particularly exhibit. 
 
 The return for the year 1821, being the year 
 after the ar .lexation of Christophers dominions to 
 the republic, gives the following balance of com- 
 merce with foreign nations : — 
 
CHAP. XII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 371 
 
 In 1821. Dollars. Cts. 
 
 Valuation of imports to Hayti 10,897,470 90 
 
 Ditto of exports from Hayti 6,856,658 2 1 
 
 Excess 4,040,812 79 
 
 In 1822. 
 
 Valuation of imports 13,017,890 19 
 
 Ditto of exports 9,050,397 6 
 
 Excess 3,987,493 13 
 
 In 1823. 
 
 Valuation of imports 13,749,012 46 
 
 Ditto of exports 9,267,787 16 
 
 Excess 4,481,225 30 
 
 -^12,509,531 22 
 
 Making an excess of imports into the country over 
 the means of the people from the value of the ex- 
 ports, in three years^ no less a sum than twelve 
 million, five hundred and nine thousand, five himdred 
 and thirty-one dollars and twenty-two centimes, 
 about treble the amount of the collective wealth of 
 the people through the whole country ! In the 
 two succeeding years the exports and imports have 
 kept, it would appear, an equal pace. By the 
 same documents also, the proportion of the above 
 balances with the respective countries is particularly 
 detailed, and the three principal ones I shall 
 enumerate, 
 
 B a 2 
 
372 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XII. 
 
 In 1821. IMPORTS. EXPORTS. 
 
 Val. in Dolls. Cts. Val. in Dolls. Cts. 
 
 Great Britain 3,254,439 5 2,501,729 7 
 
 United States 4,906,178 4 1,720,419 65 
 
 France 2,296,407 77 2,284,691 74 
 
 Holland, Germany, etc. . . 440,446 4 549,817 75 
 
 Total 10,897,470 90 6,856,658 21 
 
 In 1822. 
 
 Great Britain 5,661,244 o 
 
 United States 6,641,570 72 
 
 France 2,262,41 1 8 
 
 Holland, Germany, etc. . . 452,664 59 
 
 Total 15,017,890 19 
 
 In 1823. 
 
 Great Britain 4,506,216 60 
 
 United States 6,056,840 18 
 
 France 2,640,186 
 
 Holland, Germany, etc. . . 545,769 68 
 
 Total 13,749,012 46 
 
 5,002,074 88 
 
 3,293,890 86 
 
 2,280,800 50 
 
 453,630 82 
 
 9,030,397 6 
 
 5,108,622 6 
 
 5,327,790 5 
 
 2,360,800 
 
 470,575 5 
 
 9,267,787 16 
 
 I think it must be admitted that documents like 
 the foregoing carry on the face of them evident 
 marks of their spurious character. Although it is 
 a known fact that they were issued from the bu- 
 reau of government, it cannot for a moment be be- 
 
CHAP. XII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 373 
 
 lieved that there could be such an extraordinary- 
 excess of imports over the exports in a country the 
 credit of which has been so often impeached, and 
 the integrity of the government and people so much 
 questioned. It is not probable, — it is not credible, — 
 that the enterprising, yet wary, American should so 
 implicitly confide in Haytian integrity and honour 
 as to become a creditor of the latter to the extent of 
 nearly nine million three hundred thousand dollars ; 
 and that the British trader should be led into a 
 similar mistaken confidence, whilst France and every 
 other country appear to have acted with the greatest 
 possible precaution, and always to have obtained 
 a quid pro quo — a consideration in return for an 
 equal value given. 
 
 Nothing can be more discouraging to the com- 
 mercial intercourse with Hayti, than the irregular 
 system under which every operation is conducted, 
 from the highest to the lowest office of the state. 
 The delays and procrastinations of the officers of 
 the customs are exceedingly injurious both to the 
 consignee and to the vessel : a studied dilatoriness 
 pervades all their proceedings. This delay is well 
 known to the government, and repeated representa- 
 tions and remonstrances have been sent in to the 
 proper authorities, and some remedy particularly 
 sought for; but they have all been unsuccessful, and 
 the foreign merchants were left to pursue the best 
 course they possibly could, to obtain some little ex- 
 
374? niESENT STATE OF IIAYTI, [ciIAP. XII. 
 
 pcclition in their progress through the customs. 
 The only successful way to obtain this despatch is 
 by one that never fails in its aim, that of a douceur^ 
 for the principal officers are open to bribes, and they 
 seem determined not to do their duty without one, 
 so long as the government sanctions their conduct. 
 The inconvenience as well as the impositions 
 under which commerce labours in respect to the 
 Hay tian tariff furnishes another ground of complaint 
 among foreigners. This is a matter which ought to 
 be taken into the most serious consideration of the 
 respective governments who have representatives in 
 that country. The delay which ensues between the 
 landing of the merchant's property, and the examin- 
 ation of it by the officers of the customs for the pur- 
 pose of ascertaining its qualities, agreeably to the 
 regulations of the tariff, is not only most injurious, 
 but in Hayti every thing becomes so exposed that de- 
 predations are not unfrequent, and the injured party 
 has no remedy. The officers of the customs afford 
 no redress, nor will the government make any com- 
 pensation ; and in a country where theft is so pre- 
 valent, and justice so seldom overtakes the perpetra- 
 tor, there is but little security for property. I have 
 seen many instances of goods being most unwarrant- 
 ably exposed, and all the remonstrances of the con- 
 signee have been unavailing ; there appeared on the 
 contrary every reason to suspect connivance on the 
 part of those whose duty it was to protect the pro- 
 
CHAP. XTI.] oil SAINT DOMINGO- 375 
 
 perty against those persons who are always on the 
 alert to plunder, for they were negligent, and shewed 
 no wish to detect offenders, and bring them to 
 justice. 
 
 The way in which goods are valued agreeably to 
 the tariff is a monstrous imposition on the trader, 
 and imperatively calls for the most prompt and 
 efficient remedy. Many of the articles of British 
 manufacture are actually subjected to a duty equal 
 to twenty per cent, instead of twelve, from the ex- 
 cess of valuation, the tariff fixing a value nearly 
 double the actual sale price of the goods ; and al- 
 though it may be argued that the consumer pays the 
 duty, yet it seriously affects the sale of the article, 
 and in most cases is felt very grievously by the con- 
 signor. In no other country have I ever witnessed 
 such impositions and such depredations as are com- 
 mitted in Hayti, where the injured individuals have 
 not the least possible chance of redress. The Bri- 
 tish government has been, however, I have no 
 doubt, apprised of the impositions practised by the 
 Haytians on our commerce : hence it has been 
 found adviseable to obtain some change, and in fu- 
 ture to protect it against similar attacks. The 
 appointment of a consul-general of talents and de- 
 cision will, I am confident, bring the Haytian go- 
 vernment and President Boyer to a proper sense of 
 justice towards these British subjects who have so 
 long suffered from these impositions. A trade fet- 
 
376 TRESEXT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XII. 
 
 tcrcd with such heavy duties, and charges of various 
 description, where payment is extremely uncertain 
 and insecure, from the character of the people and 
 the state of the country, can never prosper if these ex- 
 actions and depredations be not elFectually restrained. 
 I have heard of the ingenuity and dexterity evinced 
 by the people of the South American states in ab- 
 stracting merchandize that may be exposed ; but i 
 am confident that the Haytian may challenge com- 
 petition, and on a trial of their respective merits, I 
 have no doubt of his being pronounced the victor. 
 The internal commerce of Hayti also as regards 
 foreigners is rendered quite unprofitable by the 
 absurd regulations which fetter it. The foreign 
 merchant has no latitude given to his operations ; he 
 is not permitted to trade with any but Haytian 
 citizens, and to them alone can he offer his goods. 
 Though he might be able to effect a more ad- 
 vantageous arrangement with other importers or 
 consignees like himself, he cannot even dispose 
 of the produce of the country, should he have an 
 excess beyond the quantity which he may require 
 for exportation ; he must ship it, however disadvan- 
 tageous it may be. Neither can the foreign mer- 
 chant dispose of his goods upon the coast ; he is 
 forced to place them under the agency of a Haytian 
 citizen for that purpose, and confide in people pos- 
 sessing but little integrity. 
 
 All the produce which the foreigner purchases for 
 
CHAP. XII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 377 
 
 exportation must pass through the hands of a broker, 
 to whom he is obliged to pay a commission. He is 
 not allowed to make his own purchases ; but this 
 difficulty is obviated by an understanding with the 
 broker, that he shall be paid the commission on 
 what the merchant may purchase himself. This 
 commission is about six pence per one hundred 
 pounds weight of coffee, and other articles in pro- 
 portion. The French, by the arrangements of 
 1825, enjoy a much more extensive intercourse with 
 Hayti than they did previously, and from their 
 paying only half duties both on imports and exports, 
 they are able to compete with the British and Ame- 
 ricans, who before had decidedly the advantage. I 
 do not know whether any arrangements are likely to 
 be effected, by which British commerce will be put on 
 the same footing as that of France, although I should 
 hope that such a thing is not improbable, or else the 
 little intercourse that now exists will decline more, 
 for the French will be able to undersell us, having 
 so great an advantage as half duties both ways. 
 
 In a commercial point of view Hayti presents but 
 little encouragement to the speculator or adven- 
 turer. There is no extensive sphere for mercantile 
 operation : every thing is confined within a narrow 
 compass. The foreigner, with unlimited pecuniary 
 means, has no opportunity of employing them to 
 advantage. The heavy exactions of the government 
 are too burthcnsomc to admit of any successful ap- 
 
378 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XTI. 
 
 plication of capital, and to invest it under the im- 
 pression of security would be an error that might 
 bring on very fatal results. No such thing as secu- 
 rity exists in that country ; a foreigner cannot hold 
 property in the soil, and he cannot, without a great 
 deal of inconvenience and expense, obtain a lien 
 on the real property of a citizen. To bring it to 
 sale for the purpose of liquidating a debt, would be 
 impossible, from the corrupt administration of jus- 
 tice ; for the judicial seat is filled by persons who 
 have not the least idea of either law or equity. 
 Under all these circumstances, Hayti cannot advance 
 much in commerce, for she holds out no induce- 
 ments, and until the government remove the re- 
 straints which they have put upon it, and give it 
 greater latitude and freedom, it will not be worth 
 the foreigner's seeking, for he cannot benefit by his 
 operations, and he is exposed to inconceivable dif- 
 ficulties, and often to severe losses. 
 
 The finances of Hayti are exceedingly low ; no 
 country can labour under greater depression in its 
 financial state than the republic at this moment, and 
 there does not appear the least probability of a revi- 
 val. Without agriculture and commerce, I cannot 
 see how they are to be recruited, and as those are 
 at the lowest ebb, despair seems to me inevitable. 
 Their application to the French government to ex- 
 tend the period for the payment of the debt due for 
 the recognition of independence, is corroborative of 
 
CHAP. XII.] OR SAINT DOMIXCO. 379 
 
 their impoverished condition. Tlie receipts from 
 all their sources of income are small, and their ex- 
 penditure is large, and the government is often 
 obliged to borrow money of the merchants in anti- 
 cipation of duties they may have to pay, for the 
 purpose of meeting the exigences of the country ; 
 and this has become so very frequent of late, that 
 they have met with some refusals, merchants enter- 
 taining much doubt as to the safety of making such 
 advances. 
 
 The public expenditure is estimated at about five 
 millions of dollars annually, which one would think 
 cannot be true, when a reference is made to the pro- 
 duce of the country. It is certain their ways and 
 means fall considerably short of that amount. The 
 customs on imports and exports produce about two 
 million two hundred thousand dollars annually, and 
 the territorial duties on produce, duty on houses, 
 patents, tax on markets, and other taxes of minor 
 consideration, about the same amount ; so that the 
 total revenue of the republic does not exceed four 
 million four hundred thousand dollars. On this I 
 can place some reliance ; for the best informed per- 
 sons in the country, both natives and foreigners, 
 state that amount to be correct, and that it is impos- 
 sible that it can be greater, from the condition into 
 which both commerce and agriculture have sunk. 
 The government, these last two years, anticipated a 
 large revenue from the produce of the mines of 
 
380 PRESEXT STATE OF HAYTT, [ciTAP. XII. 
 
 Cibao, but that scheme turned out to be a fallacious 
 ground-work of expectation ; and a great deal also 
 was expected to be realized by sales of the govern- 
 ment lands, but this also has failed, from landed 
 property being considered at the present moment of 
 very insecure tenure. These two anticipated sources 
 of revenue display the weakness of the government, 
 and betray their want of foresight in an amazing 
 degree, for nothing could be more inconsistent than 
 to calculate upon repairing the finances of the coun- 
 try by hidden treasures, or think of obtaining any 
 thing from mines which, had they been known to 
 be worth working, would never have been neglected 
 by the Spaniards or the French. With respect to 
 government lands, I cannot conceive how any ex- 
 pectation of deriving benefit from them could have 
 been entertained, when it is so notorious that the 
 people have not a shilling to invest in the soil ; and 
 the constitution will not permit Europeans, or white 
 persons from any country, to hold property in their 
 own right, were they disposed to do so. 
 
 No means therefore present themselves by which 
 the finances of Hayti can be improved, except the 
 cultivation of its lands in good earnest, not by par- 
 tial labour, but by the most persevering industry, 
 and by enforcing the law for culture. Nothing 
 short of the most strenuous exertions in agricul- 
 ture can save Hayti from the ruin which threatens 
 her, or can shelter her against the storm which 
 
CHAP, XII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 381 
 
 seems to be gathering round her. Setting aside the 
 produce of the soil, there is no other source from 
 which any aid to the revenue can be derived ; and if 
 that be not attended to, and an increase im mediately- 
 obtained, the little commercial intercourse that re- 
 mains will dwindle away, and Hayti will sink into an 
 irrecoverable state of poverty. 
 
 Towards both the military and civil establish- 
 ments they are exceedingly illiberal. They do not 
 adequately requite either for their services, which 
 causes them all to be open to bribes, by which the 
 revenue becomes defrauded. TJie soldiers of the 
 republic are so irregularly paid — and at times not 
 paid at all — that they make up by plunder wherever 
 they have an opportunity. This is therefore a 
 mistaken principle of economy ; but it is similar to 
 every other proceeding of the government, and 
 carries with it every mark of absurdity. To reason 
 with them in matters of finance would have no 
 effect, for the vanity of Boyer and his chief advisers 
 is such, that they think they have arrived at per- 
 fection ; they arrogate to that system of government 
 which they have established the praise of being the 
 most efficient, if not the most powerful of all the 
 modern republics. 
 
 The same want of system and method, which is 
 seen in every other branch of the government, per- 
 vades the financial department. The head of that 
 department has no power; he is a mere nominal cha- 
 
382 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, ETC. [cHAP. XII. 
 
 ractcr, and is often undeservedly exposed to censvire 
 from the extraordinary conduct of the president. It 
 is not an uncommon circumstance for the president 
 to issue an order on the treasurer for payment to some 
 individual who has had a demand upon government, 
 and after having issued it, and before an application 
 can be made for payment, a subsequent order has 
 been given to suspend the payment of it for a time, 
 by which injustice the treasurer is subjected to great 
 obloquy and abuse. This is not an uncommon thing ; 
 many of the British and American merchants will 
 bear testimony to such facts, for they have often 
 been placed in this predicament. Many to my know- 
 ledge, who have had occasion to transmit money to 
 Port au Prince from some of the distant ports, have 
 paid the amount into the treasury, or some other 
 government department at his own port, and received 
 a check on the treasurer- general for the amount, 
 which, when presented, has often been refused, and 
 it has been by great difficulty, and after great delay, 
 that the check has been paid. So little confidence 
 can be placed in the integrity of the government, 
 that people are no longer disposed to have faith 
 in it. 
 
 I have, I hope, said enough to deter mercantile 
 adventurers from falling into the trap laid for their 
 property, by the high sounding and vaunting re- 
 ports published by the eulogists of Hayti for the 
 purpose of delusion. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Haytian jurisprudence. — State of the courts. — Trial by 
 jury. — The judges. — Justices of the peace, their cor- 
 ruption. — State of the church. — Account of a Mission- 
 ary. — Schism in the church. — Moral and religious state 
 of the people — shewn by their mode of living. — Descrip- 
 tion of this mode. — Habitations described. — Furniture, 
 &c. — Education. — Its progress. — Government do not en- 
 courage it. — Remarks on the consequences of not doing 
 so. — Qualifications of senators and communes shew the 
 state of knowledge and education. 
 
 It is necessary that I should make a few remarks 
 on the subject of Haytian jurisprudence, and endea- 
 vour to shew my readers what description of per- 
 sonages preside over the civil and criminal depart- 
 ments of justice, as well as explain what sort of an 
 individual a Haytian justice of the peace is. 
 
 I think that every person who has had an occa- 
 sion to visit Hayti, and has been an observer of the 
 way in which justice is generally dispensed, will ac- 
 cord with me in the opinion that there may be exhi- 
 bited the symbol of justice, but that equity is never 
 dealt out in spirit and in substance ; and that when- 
 ever it becomes unavoidable that recourse should be 
 had to the courts of law for a decision on a dis- 
 puted question, it is ten to one in favour of that 
 
384 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTT, [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 suitor who is the most Hberal in his bribes to the 
 judges. It is a fact which cannot be controverted, 
 that justice in Hayti may be bought; and those who 
 are appointed to administer it, cannot escape the 
 imputation of making the chair of justice the vehicle 
 of corruption. Justice never flows from a pure and 
 unvitiatcd source. The civil and criminal codes of 
 Hayti do certainly provide for its due administra- 
 tion, and for the protection of property and indi- 
 viduals against molestation ; but there is a laxity in 
 the courts which deserves the severest reprobation, 
 and calls for a prompt remedy. There is so much 
 procrastination, and such inconceivable dilatoriness 
 in the officers of the courts, that cases of a civil 
 nature, although of no importance and capable of 
 being decided at the first glance, are oftentimes 
 heard and reheard, considered and reconsidered, be- 
 fore any judgment is given ; and those who may 
 be committed for trial for an alleged offence, are 
 alike subjected to the tardy proceedings of the law, 
 and the innocent often suffers, by an unjust impri- 
 sonment before trial, equal in duration to that which 
 is awarded to an offender after his conviction. The 
 supineness and apathy of the judges are the subjects 
 of general condemnation, and their want of discern- 
 ment and discrimination renders it frequently neces- 
 sary to reverse or suspend the execution of their 
 judgments. 
 
 The law establishing a trial by jury in criminal 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 385 
 
 cases passed the legislative body, I believe, in 182G, 
 but I have not heard of any instance in which it has 
 been acted upon, nor do I think, from the general 
 incapacity of the people, that it will be acted upon. 
 If it be, I cannot answer for the consequences that 
 might ensue in all cases of crime, where a long in- 
 vestigation of the different allegations which con- 
 stitute it took place. Amongst the people who would 
 be thought eligible to be summoned on a jury by the 
 court, few only, if any, would be found capable of 
 determining upon the guilt or innocence of the party 
 accused, and those probably would be led by their 
 passions to convict or acquit, without the least refer- 
 ence to the charge or the evidence adduced. The 
 trial by jury in Hayti may be a great blessing to the 
 people when they are taught to estimate its import- 
 ance, as the means of preserving their rights and 
 liberties. But as they, at the present moment, know 
 but little of liberty but the name, and have but a 
 very superficial knowledge of what constitutes their 
 rights, they are not fit to be trusted with the per- 
 formance of so important a duty as to decide upon 
 the innocence or guilt of their fellow men. Such 
 being the state of knowledge, I feel confident that 
 the trial by jury will not be adopted in practice until 
 the people become more enlightened, and knowledge 
 be more generally diffused throughout the country. 
 The court of cassation, which is the court of ap- 
 peal from the courts civil and criminal, exceeds, in 
 
 c c 
 
386 rnESENT state of hayti, [chap. xiii. 
 
 the tardiness of its proceedings, all the other legal 
 institutions of the country. There is no such thing 
 as an equitable decision emanating from the judges, 
 for they are under the surveillance of the president, 
 and before they give their judgment, have recourse 
 to him to know whether their opinions meet his ap- 
 probation. If he concur, they give judgment accord- 
 ingly, but should he differ, and the question be one 
 in which the state is a party, or any state officer, 
 then they are obliged to reconsider the case, and to 
 see if they have not taken a wrong view of the 
 question at issue. After a short period, — for it is in- 
 cumbent on them to preserve their characters as judges 
 in equity, — they pronounce judgment with great so- 
 lemnity, and with as much appearance of that con- 
 scious rectitude of proceeding as if their investiga- 
 tion of the subject had been the most unbiassed, and 
 their decision founded on the purest principles of 
 law and justice. 
 
 The proceedings in the lower courts are somewhat 
 extraordinary in civil cases. If a creditor institute 
 a suit against a debtor in one district, and obtain a 
 verdict, the defendant is permitted to appeal from 
 the sentence to the court of the adjoining district, 
 and so on in succession throughout the whole series 
 of district courts ; and if the last confirm the judg- 
 ment of the first, the defendant can then move it 
 into the court of cassation, and in the event of that 
 court confirming the judgment of the courts below, 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 387 
 
 he may appeal from it to the president, and apply 
 for a new trial in those courts, so that the contest 
 proceeds ad infinitum, however clear may be the 
 proof adduced of the debt being just. These unjust 
 and inequitable acts of the judges and president are 
 common ; and foreigners who are obliged to resort to 
 legal means for the recovery of their debts, find it 
 attended with so much procrastination and expense, 
 in addition to the uncertainty of the result, that they 
 mostly wait the effect of time for the recovery of 
 their debts, rather than have recourse to law. 
 
 Another most extraordinary, and I call it a most 
 unexampled power over the courts, is vested in the 
 hands of an officer denominated the grand judge. 
 He can stay execution after the judgment is con- 
 firmed as long as he may deem it adviseable ; and 
 although at the time the party is in possession of 
 means to liquidate the debt, he frequently gives him 
 one, two, or three years to pay it- In the mean time, 
 the debtor may dispose of his property in a clandes- 
 tine manner, the creditor being left to lament not 
 only the loss of his debt, but the heavy charges to 
 which he had been put through the whole of the 
 delays and chicanery of the law, and the weakness 
 and unfairness of the judges. 
 
 The British merchants in Hayti have been sub- 
 jected to the most intolerable impositions, through 
 the unjust proceedings of the courts of justice; 
 but it is probable that some check will now be put 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 to these iniquitous and nefarious proceedings. The 
 consul-general is too wary, and too sensible of the 
 evil, not to be on the alert ; and although he may 
 not have the power to remedy the past, I am con- 
 fident he will prevent a recurrence of it in future. 
 His known perseverance and determination have 
 shaken the courts already, and his presence there 
 will, I think, insure to his countrymen that justice for 
 which they have so long sought in vain. 
 
 The judges form perhaps the most extraordinary 
 selection of personages that could ever have been 
 found in any country ; and their avocations pre- 
 viously to their elevation to the judicial seat, have 
 never been professional. The grand judge, Mons. 
 Freshnell, is an infirm man of colour, nearly eighty 
 years of age. Until he arrived at middle age, he 
 had been actively and successfully employed in 
 the marauding career of a pirate. His legal know- 
 ledge is just what might have been expected from 
 his previous avocations. He is a modest old man, it 
 is true; for when his present appointment was offered 
 to him he declined it, as he said himself, from his 
 incompetency to fill it, and to perform the duties 
 which it required. Boyer however insisted on his 
 accepting it, and remarked " that it did not require 
 talent or legal knowledge to execute the duties of it, 
 that he had only to do as he was directed by such 
 orders as he might receive from the bureau of go- 
 vernment " ; so that, in fact, the first law officer of 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 389 
 
 the republic is a mere tool of the government, pos- 
 sessed neither of capacity nor power. He is a mere 
 instrument of the president, to move and act as he 
 may be directed. 
 
 The chief judge of the court of cassation is a 
 black, and, like that race in general, exceedingly vain 
 both of his talents and high station. He is a small 
 shopkeeper, but generally called a merchant (nego- 
 ciant), and in that way he is more respectable than 
 in his judicial capacity. The other judges of this 
 court are all engaged in some mercantile or similar 
 calling, and exhibit neither the dignity of expound- 
 ers of the law, nor the grave nor placid exterior de- 
 meanour of men on whom devolves the important 
 duty of distributing justice with an equal hand. 
 
 Monsieur Dieu Donney, chief judge of the lower 
 courts, is a man of colour, and may be considered as 
 possessing some little knowledge in the laws of the 
 republic, and would, in all probability, do justice 
 were he permitted to do so. He is said to be a great 
 opponent to the practice of suspending judgments 
 when ready for execution, and has declared it, in the 
 presence of the president, to be unjust and unconsti- 
 tutional, and that before long it would inevitably 
 be the means of driving all foreigners from the coun- 
 try, for it gave countenance to the fraudulent designs 
 of those who were in the habit of obtaining; a larjre 
 amount in goods on credit, disposing of them imme- 
 diately for less than they actually cost, for the pur- 
 
390 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [CHAP. XIII. 
 
 pose of realizing the money and investing it in lands, 
 when they knew that in the first place they could, 
 by the delays of the court, prevent judgment being 
 taken for two years, and after judgment, might ob- 
 tam three years for its liquidation ; and in fact, per- 
 haps in the end, never pay at all, because in the 
 interim they might dispose of, or make over their 
 property to another, in trust, and laugh at their 
 creditor with impunity. 
 
 He is, I think, an upright man, and although his 
 talents are not of the first order amongst his Hay- 
 tian brethren, yet he makes up for this by his in- 
 tegrity, and gives great satisfaction by the justice 
 of his decisions ; but he is often controlled by the 
 majority of his brother judges, who are as corrupt 
 as they are ignorcint. 
 
 The idea which some of the judges have of con- 
 science is somewhat singular, and may not be un- 
 worthy of notice. They are all very ill paid it is 
 true, and consequently they are open to bribery, as 
 I have before mentioned; and whenever a good 
 bribe is offered, they never consult their consciences 
 about the justice of the case, but give a verdict as a 
 quid pro quo for the douceur. 
 
 With regard to that respectable officer, a justice 
 of the peace in Hayti, he is almost indescribable, 
 being a compound of bad qualities. Speaking of 
 them generally, they are what may be not incorrectly 
 denominated retailers of justice, and dispose of it to 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 391 
 
 that person who can give the most. They are per- 
 sons certainly not very judiciously selected, and in 
 the different districts where they reside, they exer- 
 cise their power very arbitrarily, unless the parties 
 who may unfortunately be brought before them, for 
 offences committed within their jurisdiction, can af- 
 ford to pay well for a little lenity. An attempt was 
 made by the justice of peace at Port au Prince, who 
 is the uncle of Boyer's mistress, to impose on a Bri- 
 tish sailor, who had been illegally discharged from 
 an American vessel, in which he had sailed, without 
 payment of his wages, acting, it was said, under the 
 influence of the agents of the vessel. But the British 
 consul-general not only remonstrated strongly with 
 this personage, but threatened to make it a subject 
 of representation to the president ; the fellow how- 
 ever having afterwards made some submission, and 
 apologized for his conduct, the matter was permit- 
 ted to drop. 
 
 Having touched upon the administration of the 
 laws of Hayti, I shall now offer a few observations 
 on the church establishment and the moral and reli- 
 gious condition of the people. 
 
 The established religion of Hayti is the Roman 
 Catholic, the constitution, however, tolerates other 
 forms according to the letter of the law; but although 
 it does tolerate other forms of worship, the municipal 
 authorities take great care that the Protestant secta- 
 rians shall encounter every possible obstacle when 
 
392 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTJ, [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 they wish to meet for tlie purpose of divine worship. 
 They will not permit their meetings to be held in a 
 public manner, and the inhabitants are cautioned 
 against receiving them into their houses unless they 
 desist from preaching. What is therefore called to- 
 leration in Hayti it would be difficult to define. It is 
 not many years since, that a missionary from one of 
 the societies of England (I think he was a Wesley an) 
 was obliged to leave the country, although that in- 
 dividual bore a most exemplary character, and had 
 very studiously avoided exciting the envy of the 
 Catholic priests, or giving the least umbrage to 
 any person of that persuasion. He set about the 
 duties of his mission with all the ardour of his 
 sect, and gained many followers, but the ran- 
 cour of the Catholic clergy was roused by his suc- 
 cess, and their malice soon became conspicuous. 
 This very worthy man, therefore, was subjected to 
 great insult. His removal was suggested to the 
 president, and the anathemas of the church were 
 threatened unless he complied with their request. 
 He was represented by them to have aimed at 
 subverting the doctrines of the church of Rome, 
 and of introducing heresy among the people, to 
 have preached disobedience to the established au- 
 thorities, and to have ridiculed the supremacy of 
 the Pope. The weakness and submission of the pre- 
 sident forced him to expel this individual from the 
 ibland. It is said, however, that Bover secretly en- 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 398 
 
 abled him to do so, by presenting him with a sum 
 of money, and expressing the regret he felt that any 
 causes of a rehgious character should have called 
 upon him to exercise the power with which the con- 
 stitution had armed him, as he individually was 
 sensible of the unreasonableness of that jealousy 
 which is too predominant in the followers of the 
 Church of Rome, and which he could not but silently 
 deprecate. 
 
 The Catholic church in Hayti appears to be 
 in a very disorganized state. The schism in the 
 chiu*ch which happened a few years ago has not been 
 healed, and Boyer, by expelling the bishop of Port 
 au Prince and Pere Jeremie, (Jeremiah O'Flinns, an 
 Irish priest,) has incurred severe papal censures, 
 which, it is said, he has taken no steps to remove. 
 Formerly the church establishment in Hayti was 
 numerous, there being no less than an archbishop, 
 three bishops, and about sixty priests and monks. 
 But at this time there remain only about thirty or 
 forty of the latter class distributed in the different 
 parts of the country, and it is the determination of 
 the government not to increase their number ; the 
 others will in future be excluded, as the poverty of 
 the state requires the revenue of the church in aid 
 of its exigences. 
 
 Some of the priests who officiate, arc the most ab- 
 ject and miserable wretches I think I ever saw. They 
 are poor, and in some of the interior parts they dc- 
 
391 TKESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 rive their sole support from the voluntary contribu- 
 tions of the inhabitants, but those in the principal 
 towns have a tolerable income, and seem to enjoy 
 the good things of this world in common with their 
 flock. Those who attend at the shrine of Alta 
 Gracia at Higuey are said to be rich, but their 
 emoluments arise principally from the offerings of 
 the poor deluded bigots who go there on their pil- 
 grimage. 
 
 The people in general seem to care but little 
 about religion, and the conduct of the leading men 
 of the state sets religion and morality at defiance. 
 The female Haytians who attend divine worship, 
 and go regularly to mass, are not actuated by any 
 religious feeling. Going to church is a mere matter 
 of parade with them, the sabbath being a day of 
 festivities, and not set aside for religious devotion. 
 The female congregations which frequent the 
 churches in Hayti appear better prepared for an 
 opera, or some other public amusement, than for 
 the sacred duties of offering up their prayers in 
 adoration of the Deity. 
 
 The men seldom or never go to mass, except on 
 the days particularly set apart by the government as 
 public fetes. On these occasions the president and all 
 the officers of Hayti go in procession, but the idea of 
 devotion, I believe, never enters their contemplation. 
 Such days are merely set aside for celebrating some 
 particular event, which it is wished should be handed 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 395 
 
 down to posterity. These occasions present only 
 the external symbol of religion, the whole people 
 being either ignorant or careless of its real character. 
 Their manner and appearance during the celebra- 
 tion of mass shew that they have no inward feelings 
 of piety or devotion. 
 
 The moral state of the people is at the lowest pos- 
 sible ebb. In the towns there is perhaps the appear- 
 ance of morality, and persons are apt to conclude that 
 they have made some progress in general, from what 
 they have observed in such places where opportunities 
 are afforded of seeing those of the inhabitants who 
 have had the benefits of education ; but in the in- 
 terior there is an infinite difference, and the people 
 are in the lowest state of moral degradation — every 
 thing shews it, their habits and manner of living. 
 In secluded places they congregate, and follow 
 all the propensities of nature, and indulge in all 
 the vices of lust and sensuality without limits and 
 without control. It is not possible, I think, for any 
 one to visit their habitations, without returning from 
 them with a conviction that their present state is 
 much below any thing that can be imagined to have 
 existed in the worst state of society in any part of 
 the world. In the new republics of South America, 
 in which society is very backward also, the prevail- 
 ing habits present some appearance of improvement; 
 but in the country districts of Hayti there are no 
 demonstrations of advancement from that dcplor- 
 
396 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 able ignorance in which they seem to have existed 
 from the period of the revolution ; no change in 
 their loose and dissolute manners and customs, but a 
 fixed and determined perseverance in all the primi- 
 tive vices of the African race. 
 
 If the interior of the houses of the highest class 
 of peoj)le even in the towns display nothing in- 
 dicative of that peculiar regard for propriety and 
 cleanliness which we have heard of as being so 
 characteristic of the people of colour, in the tropics, 
 what will be said of the habitations of the cultiva- 
 tors in the interior of Hayti, where they resemble 
 more the huts of the most savage tribes of the eastern 
 and the western world .f^ The former are far from 
 being in such a condition as to make them desirable 
 residences ; for in fact they exhibit nothing approach- 
 ing to that state which is so common with people 
 of colour in other colonies, the sluggish occupiers 
 caring little about cleanliness except in the exterior 
 ornaments of their persons. The huts of the in- 
 terior are merely mud edifices with two rooms for 
 the accommodation of the whole family, and in 
 which the slaves of the British colonies, and parti- 
 cularly in Jamaica, would disdain to reside ; nor 
 would their proprietors offer them such miserable 
 abodes. In these houses filth and every species of 
 uncleanliness prevail, for the people give themselves 
 entirely up to their indolent and lazy habits. It is 
 common to see the pigs and poultry herding with 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 39? 
 
 the family, and whilst the latter are at their repast, 
 the former are in attendance, " picking the crumbs 
 that fall from their master's table." One bed often 
 suffices for all the inmates. The furniture con- 
 sists of a very few articles, a table, a stool, two 
 chairs, a side board, or rather a tray on four legs, 
 and some bowls made from the calabash as substi- 
 tutes for earthenware, with an iron pot or two for 
 culinary purposes. Every thing seems useful, there 
 is nothing ornamental, except now and then a small 
 pier glass in a gilt frame decorated mostly with the 
 labours of Arachne, and a wood-cut of the cap of 
 liberty, considered to be an emblematical represent- 
 ation of Haytian heroism. 
 
 It may not be improper to offer a few remarks on 
 the subject of education in the republic, and which 
 seems to me to have been represented in colours far 
 too glowing. Most people, I apprehend, have 
 formed an opinion of the progress of education from 
 what they have perceived in Port au Prince, Cape 
 Haytien, and one or two others of the principal 
 places, as though those places contained the largest 
 proportion of the population. This is an erro- 
 neous impression, as the youth in the country parts, 
 not having the means of education placed within 
 their reach, are brought up in the darkest igno- 
 rance. This is immediately seen at any of the 
 little villages through which the traveller has to 
 pass, for making an inquiry at many of them if 
 
398 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTf, [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 there were any schools, the answer was generally 
 " there were none, except at Port an Prince."" In 
 the north, the public schools established by Chris- 
 tophe, who really made efforts to disseminate know- 
 ledge and to improve the morals of the people, have 
 all been suspended and the houses turned into bar- 
 racks for the military, to the utter disgrace of the 
 government. 
 
 In Port au Prince there is one school supported 
 by the republic upon the Lancasterian principle, 
 and a military school for young men who are in- 
 tended for the scientific departments of the army, 
 and there is a similar establishment at the cape; 
 but the few schools which are to be met with in the 
 large towns are merely private institutions to which 
 youth are sent whose parents have the means of sup- 
 porting them. The ignorant cultivators give them- 
 selves no concern about procuring moral education 
 for their children ; and on the score of religion they 
 seldom feel the least anxiety, for three-fourths of 
 them are at this moment as rank idolaters as their 
 forefathers were in Africa. 
 
 In the towns also it should be understood the peo- 
 ple are mostly engaged in some mercantile avoca- 
 tions, or else they are handicraftsmen, or persons 
 holding some civil or military appointments. They 
 therefore have not only an opportunity of educating 
 their children, being contiguous to the schools, but 
 they have the pecuniary means for doing so. The 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 399 
 
 cultivators in the country have neither ; money in 
 particular they never have, except just as much as 
 the sale of their vegetables on a Sunday brings them, 
 but which is generally disposed of in payment for 
 the salt provisions, and the supply of taffia required 
 for their weekly consumption. They have no reserve 
 for purposes of improvement, nor are they taught to 
 improve ; but the government seems to consider that 
 to keep them in ignorance is the most secure way 
 to insure tranquillity and repose to the country. 
 That such is the feeling of the government I think 
 is quite evident from the one hundred and seventy- 
 eighth article of the Code Rural, which I have 
 given before, and which orders that children shall 
 be sent to their fathers " to follow their condition 
 of life." As long therefore as their parents con- 
 tinue in ignorance and immorality, it is clear that the 
 children have no means of profiting by a good exam- 
 ple. It is the prevaihng sentiment of the people of 
 colour, that the blacks should be kept in their pre- 
 sent state of ignorance, and so long as the govern- 
 ment be composed of people of the former class, the 
 latter will remain in their present abject condition. 
 As the negro is now situated, he is in a worse state 
 of degradation than the slave ; for although he is 
 free, he is almost excluded from the general mass 
 of the population ; he is marked with the name of 
 freedom, whilst he actually groans under despotism 
 and oppression. In this state he is likely to remain. 
 
400 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XIII. 
 
 until some general change be effected in Hayti 
 which shall place him in a state of unresisted inter- 
 course with the more enlightened portion of the 
 people, by which he may be taught properly to 
 estimate the value of liberty, and made to participate 
 in those blessings which it is wont to diffuse. 
 
 I do not know a circumstance that shews more 
 clearly the backward state of knowledge and educa- 
 tion in Hayti than the little progress made by the 
 representatives of the people in the senate and in the 
 chamber of communes, for there are many of them 
 who can neither read nor write. In the senate, out 
 of twenty-four members I could mention four or 
 five who, at the time I left the island, could not 
 write their names, nay, not even their initials. It 
 may appear strange that the president, who has the 
 selection of the members who occupy seats in the 
 senate, should appoint men thus incapable and un- 
 educated to become his council and advisers. How- 
 ever strange this may seem to others, it excites no 
 surprise in my mind, because I am convinced, and 
 it is a matter of general notoriety, that Boyer wants 
 only mere passive instruments to obey, and not 
 canvass or oppose any measures emanating from the 
 government. Out of about seventy-two members 
 composing the chamber of communes, there are 
 twenty-six equally ignorant, and their only qualifi- 
 cation seems to be a sufficient degree of pliancy to 
 yield a ready assent to any proposition which has 
 
CHAP. XIII.] OK SAINT DOMINGO. 401 
 
 been submitted by the government for their con- 
 sideration. 
 
 All that government wants of the members of 
 either house is to keep up the appearance of legisla- 
 tive deliberation, to give a colour to their own pro- 
 ceedings, and form a cloak to cover their plans of 
 oppression and rapacity. The persons selected 
 in the different communes as representatives, are 
 those who have been recommended by the govern- 
 ment, for the people have no voice, or, what is 
 nearly the same, they dare not raise it against those 
 whom the president has recommended to their choice. 
 These abject representatives are mere tools in the 
 hands of government, and as they are well paid, 
 they care little or nothing for the duties of the station 
 to which they are elevated. 
 
 The senator with his one thousand two hundred 
 dollars per annum, and the commune with his eight 
 hundred dollars received from the treasury, would 
 not hesitate to accede to any proposition, however 
 monstrous and unconstitutional, in order to secure 
 his seat, and preserve the favour of the government. 
 
 D D 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Population. — Census 1824, opinion on it. — Further 
 statement. — Manner of taking the census. — Checks to 
 increase. — Decrease is evident. — Nature of those checks. 
 — Increase in United States according to Raymond. — 
 Conclusion. 
 
 It is a very difficult task to ascertain the exact 
 number of the population in Hayti, and I may in 
 all probability not be correct in the statement which 
 was given to me, although I am convinced that the 
 individual from whom I received it would not know- 
 ingly have offered me a document containing an 
 erroneous calculation. Indeed I place great reliance 
 on this statement, because the official station of its 
 author affi^rds him information which is not easily 
 to be obtained from any other source. It ap- 
 pears that the census said to have been taken in 
 the year 1824, and the particulars of which I have 
 in my possession as presented to me personally 
 by Boyer, is a fabrication of government, promul- 
 gated intentionally to astonish the nations of Eu- 
 rope with the rapid increase of the population 
 since the expulsion of the French in the time of 
 Dessalines. This census when taken into consider- 
 ation will appear almost incredible, and, from the 
 
CHAP. XIV.] PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI. 403 
 
 irregular manner in which, even on the confession of 
 its advocates, it is acknowledged to have been taken, 
 it will be found unworthy of being received as an 
 authentic return. It states the number as follows: — 
 
 In the ancient Spanish part 61,468 
 
 In the part formerly under Christophe 567,721 
 
 In the part originally the republic established by 
 
 Petion 504,146 
 
 Total 933^333 
 
 The incredibility attached to such a statement as 
 the preceding will be manifested, when it is remem- 
 bered that in 1802, in the time of Toussaint, the 
 population 
 
 In the ancient French part was, according to Hum- 
 boldt, about 575,000 
 
 And in the Spanish part it did not exceed 95,000 
 
 Total 470,000 
 
 Now it must I think be admitted that such an in- 
 crease as appears from a comparison of these two 
 statements cannot be probable. That the popula- 
 tion of any country should double in twenty-two 
 years, cannot for a moment be believed. Here it 
 is represented to have more than doubled, for there 
 is a decrease in the Spanish part of nearly thirty- 
 four thousand, and the subsequent war with Le 
 Clerc and the massacres of Dessalines, as well as 
 the long internal contests between Christophe and 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 PRESEXT STATE OF IIAYTT, [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 Petion, are not taken in the scale of decrease. The 
 census of 1824, therefore, will, I should think, ap- 
 pear erroneous. That it is prima facie a fabrication, 
 cannot be denied ; and the advantage expected to 
 result from this falsification I cannot comprehend. 
 By the statement to which I have alluded as given 
 to me, and on which I can rely as containing a 
 more correct return of the population of 1824, 
 Hayti appears to contain : — 
 
 Blacks 608,400 
 
 Coloured of all degrees , 90,700 
 
 Strangers domiciled 1 6,400 
 
 Total 715,500 
 
 And about three hundred white inhabitants, consist- 
 ing of foreign merchants, tradesmen, handicrafts- 
 men, &c. 
 
 Of the above number, the divisions are stated in 
 this manner : — 
 
 In the ancient Spanish part 54,000 
 
 The part formerly Christophe's 302,300 
 
 The part originally the republic under Petion 359,200 
 
 Total 715,500 
 
 This account of the population carries on the face 
 of it much more probability than the statement of 
 Boyer> Indeed I took no little pains to inquire of 
 individuals conversant with the subject, and they 
 
CHAP. XIV.] OR SAINT DOMINGO. 405 
 
 spoke decidedly against tlie census of 1824, giving 
 it as their opinion that it could not have exceeded 
 seven hundred thousand, at all events seven hundred 
 and twenty thousand of all degrees. It was their 
 further opinion that the population had not lately 
 increased, but on the contrary, from what they could 
 observe in the different parts through which they 
 had occasion to travel on their mercantile concerns, 
 there appeared a great check, and that there was 
 unquestionably an annual decrease. 
 
 The manner in which the government proceeds 
 in taking a census must inevitably lead to in- 
 accuracy and error, even where there is no design to 
 deceive. A census is taken in each arrondissement 
 by the general commanding, aided by the justices 
 of the peace in the several parishes composing it, 
 and as there are no registers kept in those parishes 
 of births or deaths, every thing is left to estimation, 
 occasional visits being made to several parts of them 
 to ascertain the number of settlers. Now many of 
 these proprietors have possessions in two or three 
 parishes within the arrondissement; and the re- 
 turns of persons composing their family are made in 
 each of them, and thereby swell the aggregate of the 
 population much beyond the actual number. And 
 further, the census is not taken simultaneously in 
 the several arrondissements, but at different periods, 
 and it is said, that the cultivators who move from 
 one to the other, are returned in two places. 
 
406 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI^ [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 If the people were industrious, and relaxed from 
 those vicious courses in which they now too much 
 indulge ; if marriage were more generally diffused, 
 and morality inculcated ; if some system were 
 adopted which would tend towards a removal of the 
 evils which now prevail through the repuhlic, the 
 population would in all probability increase, but 
 until these are accomplished, such a result is not to 
 be expected. 
 
 It has often been argued that labour in the colo- 
 nies is a check upon increase, and that may be pos- 
 sible when the labour is excessive. But I think it will 
 be admitted that a moderate portion of labour has 
 a contrary effect, and this is exemplified in those 
 states of America where slavery exists. In those 
 states the increase is very great, and excites con- 
 siderable apprehension lest the slave population 
 should become too powerful a body to be kept in sub- 
 jection. Raymond, an American author, and a poli- 
 tical economist, in his remarks on the population 
 of the United States, gives the increase of the 
 slaves at one and a half per cent, annually, which 
 I tliink is a refutation of the opinion of labour 
 being a check of so serious a nature as has been 
 contemplated. In the British colonies I have 
 seen instances of large families, though the parents 
 have undergone the regular labour of the planta- 
 tion ; but in Hayti, where very little labour is per- 
 formed, I was not able to discover a solitary in- 
 
CHAP. XIV.] on SAINT DOMINGO. 40? 
 
 stance of a large family in any part througli which 
 I had occasion to travel. In the slave states of the 
 North American Union, the labour of the slaves is 
 as severe as in the British colonies, and on travel- 
 ling through them I saw as many cases of large 
 families among the slave population as occur among 
 the white people, so that even severe labour is not 
 a check upon increase to such a degree as many are 
 led to imagine. 
 
 It must also be remarked, that among the Hay- 
 tians there are but very few instances of longevity, 
 the males seldom exceeding forty or fifty years of 
 age, and the women probably a year or two more. 
 At the age of thirty, both men and w^omen have 
 the appearance of being prematurely afflicted by the 
 weight of time ; the effects, no doubt, of an un- 
 restricted sensual intercourse and other vices, and 
 greatly increased by sloth and indolence. In the 
 slave colonies, on the contrary, men and women 
 will be found at the age of fifty possessing all the 
 health and vigour of their sex, whilst those who 
 have been emancipated, and have imbibed the in- 
 dolent habits, and pursued the licentious indul- 
 gences so characteristic of the negro in a state of 
 uncontrolled liberty, exhibit the decrepitude of age 
 even at forty. 
 
 I have offered the foregoing remarks on popula- 
 tion with a view to shew that it is impossible that 
 the census taken in 1824 can be correct; and I think 
 
408 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAP. XIV. 
 
 it must appear conclusive, under all the circum- 
 stances connected with the state of society, that the 
 large increase of population said to have taken place 
 between the time of Dessalines and the present pe- 
 riod, rests upon no authority whatever. The habits 
 of the people manifestly oppose such a supposition. 
 That for several years there has been no increase, 
 I am persuaded ; and so long as the people are per- 
 mitted to indulge in all those excesses which are so 
 prevalent in the country, I am convinced that their 
 number will continue to decrease. 
 
 I have but little to advance by way of conclusion 
 to my labours, further than to observe that I trust it 
 will be seen that Hayti has been too much extolled; 
 that the extraordinary and rapid strides said to have 
 been made by its inhabitants, in wealth, morality, and 
 knowledge, is a fiction which has not the slightest 
 foundation; and that, before a change can be eifected, 
 ages must roll away and a new people be created. 
 The present race are too hardened in vice to be 
 improved by example, or taught the distinction be- 
 tween that which may benefit the country and that 
 which must prove subversive of the public good. 
 Let loose from restraint, without having been first 
 taught how to enjoy freedom, they have given way 
 to ungovernable passions, and plunged into every 
 speciea of vice. Feeling only the few wants charac- 
 teristic of the savage, and those wants easily sup- 
 plied, they are careless of all consequences, and 
 
CHAP. XIV.] OR SAIXT DOMIXGO. 409 
 
 never bestow a tliought on the future welfare either 
 of their posterity or their country ; but go on with- 
 out the least constraint, fostering and pursuing 
 every evil and pernicious habit. But such a state 
 as this must bring on a crisis of no ordinary danger 
 and difficulty, and Hayti may yet have to endure a 
 repetition of those scenes of trouble and desolation 
 which have marked her career from the revolution ; 
 which may shake or perhaps destroy the little fabric 
 which she has raised, and finally bring upon her 
 people all those fatal consequences which spring from 
 morals and habits universally dissolute and relaxed. 
 Hayti affords us a strong instance of what may be 
 expected from the emancipation of slaves before they 
 have been previously prepared to receive this boon 
 by moral and religious instruction, and a proof that 
 agriculture cannot efficiently be carried on in the co- 
 lonies if it depend on the labour of the enfranchised 
 slave. Should it be therefore thought expedient 
 to declare the slaves in the British colonies free, 
 before they have been prepared for such a measure, 
 and provision be made against the consequences of 
 that sudden ebullition which emancipation would ex- I 
 cite, the colonies may be taken leave of for ever as a 
 productive appendage to the crown. Hayti bears 
 me out in this opinion; for that country presents 
 a lasting monument of what may be expected from 
 injudicious emancipation, or what may be effected 
 by free labour. With the finest soil in the world for 
 
410 PRESENT STATE OF HAYTI, [cHAV. XIV. 
 
 all the purposes of tropical agriculture, with seasons 
 the most congenial, with a climate so varied in its 
 temperature as to be peculiarly adapted for the pro- 
 duction, of not only tropical plants, but those of 
 America and of Europe also, with a population of 
 labourers equal to her wants, were they moral and 
 industrious, — with all these important advantages na- 
 turally adapted to raise her into eminence and weahh, 
 yet has Hayti sunk into the lowest state of poverty 
 and moral degradation. AVithout agriculture, for the 
 country displays nothing but waste ; without com- 
 merce, for her harbours are empty, and present no 
 appearance of a revival of trade ; with an exhausted 
 treasury and a diminished revenue ; with a heavy 
 debt and a debased currency, Hayti must finally 
 be overwhelmed in irretrievable ruin. 
 
 One plan however still remains to be tried, by 
 which she may in time perhaps recover her shattered 
 state. Let the people be roused to a sense of their 
 abject condition, and if laws be enacted for the en- 
 forcement of cultivation, let them not sleep, but be 
 executed with an unsparing hand, and the penalty 
 which they impose be rigidly inflicted on the dis- 
 obedient and the indolent. Those mistaken views 
 of philanthropy upon which the government has 
 hitherto proceeded have proved destructive to the 
 country, and the effects of ill-judged leniency are 
 now too heavy to be any longer borne. Coercive 
 measures arc now, it is said, to take the place of mild 
 
CHAP. XIV.] OH SAINT DOMINGO. 411 
 
 ones ; the people are not to be permitted to pursue 
 their own uncontrolled courses as heretofore, nor the 
 indolent to slumber with impunity. All are to spring 
 forward as with one impulse, to an extended culture 
 of the soil, for the purpose of restoring the country 
 to its ancient condition. 
 
 I wish the promise thus held out to the world may 
 be realized, and that the government may still pos- 
 sess sufficient energy to give effect to its declared 
 intention; but I have my doubts of both. The pre- 
 sident is incompetent, and the government weak 
 and imbecile ; and whilst the present rulers are per- 
 mitted to hold the reins of the state machine, I for 
 one cannot hope that the country will emerge from 
 that miserable condition into which an unwise policy, 
 and an overstrained and mistaken philanthropy, have 
 unfortunately thrown it. Time, it is said, effects 
 wonderful changes, but I fear no change can take 
 place for the better in Hayti until there be a new 
 race of people, under the dominion of a chief compe- 
 tent to rule them with efficient energy. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 G. Woodfall, Printer, Aiigcl Court, Skinner Street, Loudon. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 55, for " Aux Cazes", and throughout the volume, for '* Aux 
 Cases", read "Aux Cayes". 
 (io, for " parish of Acub ", read " parish of Acul ". 
 199, and throughout the volume, for " Count Lhiionde ", read 
 
 " Count Limonade ". 
 215, for " Prince Larnders ", read " Prince Saunders ". 
 238, and throughout the volume, for "Surnana", read " Saniana". 
 279, for " L'Arcahazc ", read " L'Arcahaye ". 
 296, for '"Llamus", read "Llanos". 
 300, for <' Cibas", read " Cibao". 
 
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